Still A Better Love Story Than Twilight
by MakaEvanslullaby
Summary: Maka Albarn harbors a deep secret, she's half-vampire, but when she attends the DWMA, will she and he only friend Death The Kid be able to keep it that way, or will someone find out? Supernatural themes. I'm winging it on the pairings. Semi-AU. Story's better than the summary, I suck at them.
1. Chapter 1

Hey guys so this is my new fanfic. It's a but more supernatural, so I hope you like it. BTW, under any circumstances do not compare this to any other fanfic. I make unless it is constructive. Thank you.

* * *

The night was quiet, the winds calm, everything in the forest of Death City seemed, well... dead.

I looked around, honing in on every instinct. Suddenly, the wind picked up for a second again, and I knew I had to move. I ran like a kishin was at my heels, the wind whistled in my ears, and rushed onto my face, whipping my ponytail back to trail my every movement like a blaze of light trails fast moving cars in movies. I continued the hunt, it was making my mind race. The want to go faster, to do more, to jump farther from branch to branch, it was a thrill. These were some of the things I loved, they made me feel alive.

I kept running after my prey, this one was almost as fast as me...

Almost.

It really didn't stand a chance though, because technically, the thing was still alive, it needed to breathe, its heart still beat. It would only be a matter of time before I caught up to it again. I landed on another branch, glad it didn't give way or break on me, or else I would have to start the hunt again. I was drained of energy, I needed it, I wanted it, I desired it and craved for it. The warmth of the black liquid going down, gushing out, and raining down around me. The desire burned with the rage of hell, and it was taking over, becoming my only driving force. Bloodlust. It was so strong, it was sensual the way I could just feel and taste the blood.

* * *

Maka studied the creature as it lurked near campgrounds, waiting for its own prey. She hoped the wind would die down long enough for her to ambush it without its finding out about her stalking. Every time she wanted to ambush it, the wind picked up and it would smell her. It knew how the food chain worked, and ran.

Thing is, when you run, a vampire's predatory instinct is to give chase.

That's right, Maka Albarn is a vampire. Well actually, she's a hybrid.

Maka Albarn was the daughter of Kami and Spirit Albarn, Kami was a vampire, and Spirit a human, well, weapon. Maka was therefore half-human, half-vampire. It was said that a hybrid was something that technically couldn't exist. What they forgot to account for was that there were other creatures, such as demon-weapons, who weren't entirely human. All weapons are descendants of those Arachne used magic and a witch's soul to make into weapons, and as such all have transformation abilities. So when Maka was conceived she was able to be a hybrid, an in-between. She was able to grow and develop, but didn't need anything other than mama's blood to sustain her. But enough of the icky scientific explanation of how she's possible, she just is and that's that.

She kept a close watch on her prey, waiting for the right time to strike. If she did now, she would hit the tree branch that was in between the pre-kishin and her. She looked around the forest for a way to get it to move just a bit closer. The leaves were various firey shades of red and orange, perfect.

Maka silently plucked a few dried leaves from the branch beside her, and as the breeze picked up she crunched them, letting them be carried away by the wind towards the pre-kishin, hoping that it would run from the scent as it always had.

And she was right.

The pre-kishin ran as soon as the leaves blew past it, but it was too late, before the gentle breeze carried the leaves to it, Maka had already landed on another branch, ready to attack. It ran right in front of Maka, and she pounced on it. Her teeth sunk into the humanoid flesh of the kishin, and boy did it feel good.

She reveled in the feeling of the warm substance gushing into her mouth. The taste was great, as this pre-kishin wasn't as close to being a demon as others were. The blood was still a dark red, so it was still enjoyable. It nourished her, she could feel her power growing tremendously more, as she was on the brink of exhaustion. It was just over two weeks since she last fed, and that was bad, real bad.

It wasn't her fault though, the DWMA, or perhaps better known as Shibusen, had students that hunted pre-kishin and witches. Pre-kishin were her prey, as were most witches. She resented those kids, always taking her food from her. It wasn't fair, almost every time she had a target set, some stupid Shibusen kid would take her prey. She was a young hybrid, at a certain age, she would stop aging, but for know she was still growing. Maka was 16, so she still had quite some time before two weeks without feeding would be like two minutes to a human, and she enjoyed her food while she could.

Perhaps just a little too much, because she hadn't noticed that she had an audience until a boy with piercing amber eyes came up just a few steps from her, and fake-coughed to show that he was there. He wore a suit, as per usual; Maka had seen him a few times before, he was the son of Lord Death. He was a Grim.

Maka didn't necessarily hate him nor his father, but she didn't like them much either. Lord Death set up the DWMA and Kid always was there to cut her meals short, she didn't like feeding in front of others.

"Well I can see you're busy, but if you don't mind, I need to collect the souls that this pre-kishin ate and send them off, and also the pre-kishin's soul as well."

Maka glared at him, fangs still deep in the thing's neck; she blushed from embarrassment and was glad that Kid couldn't see her. She retracted herself from it, tossing it on the ground unceremoniously. Dark red blood still on her lips.

"It's all yours." Maka replied nonchalantly

She licked her red lips while staring at the dead pre-kishin, as if she still wanted some, Kid staring at her the entire time, bright Amber eyes piercing her. She looked back at Kid with her cat's eye green ones, and brushed herself off as if it was nothing. But that's exactly what it was, nothing. This happened a lot since Kid helped his father reap souls and the DWMA was set up. So much so that the two actually had an uneasy friendship of sorts.

"Thank you." Kid was always such a stiff when he came a little early and saw Maka feeding. Especially when she looked like she was enjoying it immensely. He would have reached for Liz or Patti, but he didn't have either of them with him, his father told him to never bring a weapon on a reap.

When he asked why, that was the first time Lord Death introduced him to Maka. She had skin like porcelain, emerald eyes, and silky golden wheat hair. He could remember her in the goth looking sailor-ish outfit, much like the one she had on now.

( images19/content/output/000/000/000/7a8/784756763_ just take away the space after )

Kid was 13 years old at the time, and Maka 12. At first Kid didn't understand the all visual and no-audio explanation, as his father was usually a talkative man...reaper.

* * *

"_I don't get it. Is she a special weapon or something?" A very confused Kid asked._

_"Why don't you show him what I mean dear." Lord Death suggested to Maka_

_"Are you sure it's okay? Papa said never to tell anyone, and mama would be mad at me if I did." Maka replied nervously_

_"Okay sweetie, wait one sec." Lord Death left them in the Death room to go get someone. Who, they had no clue._

_"So what's your name?" Maka asked, not really caring, but not liking the silence either._

_"Death the Kid, but most people call me Kid."_

_"Can I?" Maka asked, thinking saying Death the Kid was too formal sounding_

_"Sure, but what's your name."_

_"Maka Albn." She said, muttering the last name so Kid couldn't understand._

_"What?"_

_"Maka Albarn." She said the last name as if she resented that, and Kid suddenly remembered why._

_"Wait, so you're Spirit's daughter."_

_"Sadly so."_

_"Oh, well if it's any consolation, you look nothing like him."_

_"Good. You know, I'm beginning to like you already."_

_"Why's that?"_

_"Because I hate my father, that's why."_

_"MAKAAAAAA! You've finally returned to papa! Papa loves you soooo much!" Spirit burst into the room with Lord Death behind him, running towards his daughter in an attempt to hug her._

_"MAKAAAA CHOP!" Much to Kid's amusement, she pulled out a book seemingly out of nowhere, and knocked him out in one blow._

_"I'll never consider you my father you annoying twit." Kid was shocked she would talk to her father in such a way, and that she hit him, without an repercussions._

_"My Maka hates me!" Spirit started crying out like a little Kid, much to Lord Death and Maka's displeasure._

_"REAPEEE-"_

_"MAKA CHOP!" Kid was amused and fascinated by how she beat Lord Death to a chop, no one had ever done that before._

_"Nice chop, Maka-chan" Lord Death praised_

_"Thank you." She was glad that the one known for chops recognized her, it felt like winning an award._

_"Okay Maka, so Spirit and I here talked with your mother on the phone. She said it was okay with her as long as it was okay with Spirit, and Spirit said it was fine, so you can show Kid." Kid was curious as to what it was she had to show him._

_"Okay, here goes." She said_

_Suddenly, Kid could feel a wave of energy from seemingly out of nowhere, as if a witch released Soul Protect, but this wasn't a witch's soul, in fact it was nothing he felt before. Her eyes started growing a brighter shade of green, much like how a cat's eyes glow in the dark. Her soul was powerful, and dark yet bright at the same time, an equilibrium of sorts. He appreciated the balance as long as it lasted. The pretty daytime sky of the death room became gray, and the room seemed to be more dark, but only partly ominously. It was more beautiful than ominous, and Kid was confused even more. Jet black shadowy tendrils swirled underneath her feet, as if she was walking on shadow. They surrounded Maka for a moment, growing taller then breaking off in the form of bats and swarming, once again surrounding her, encasing her in darkness._

_"She's really one for theatrics isn't she?" Lord Death asked_

_Spirit nodded in agreement, "Yes she is, much like her mother. But to be fair, we didn't say she shouldn't fully transform, we just said show Kid, so otherwise she probably wouldn't be as dramatic."_

_As son as Spirit finished talking, a figure of a woman encased in shadow stood before Kid. One of the bats on her left thigh came off, revealing pale skin. This was followed by another on her right hand, revealing fingers with perfect nails, shiny but not with anything on them, followed by another over her left eye, revealing a bright green eye. Soon enough, others followed, and the bat-shaped shadows swarmed around her, and carrying off into the dark gray sky. A young woman stood before Kid, no more than 21 years of age. Kid was confused for a moment and didn't realize the woman in front of him was indeed Maka, the same once-flat-chested Maka he saw not a moment ago. He looked at the woman's eyes, and he noticed it was her._

_It wasn't that her eyes were the same shade of green, because they weren't, no they were brighter, but rather it was the look in them that made him know._

_The broken, wrathful, and angelically beautiful mix of emotions he couldn't place. Those same emotions he noticed in Maka's eyes before she changed. She looked at him for a moment._

_"Hey Kid." She smiled nervously and he saw them. Her fangs. _

_"So you're a vampire? That's really cool! I've never seen a real vampire before!"_

_"I wouldn't be surprised, my kind are hunted by humans, so we tend to stay away. We're considered monsters because we need blood to survive and killed for it when a hunter shows up. Then of course there are fledglings that can't control themselves, so they die a lot. I hope you can see why I was nervous before."_

_Kid was somewhat heartbroken at the news, he knew it all too well. His father had sometimes had to personally kill fledglings that were considered dangerous and made it near Death City, if they were a threat to his city, they were to his students, and he wouldn't let any harm that could have been avoided come to them._

_"It's okay, I understand."_

_"So, you're not afraid of me?" Maka was astonished at his enthusiasm._

_"I'm a grim reaper."_

_"Okay, allow me to rephrase. You don't find me to be disgusting or an abomination or a monstrosity?" 'Why is she so shocked?' Kid thought_

_"No! I mean I guess drinking blood doesn't sound too appetizing," Maka frowned and Kid quickly added in "but you need it to survive like people eat meat, so it's okay with me."_

_"Really?" Kid nodded in response and Maka ran up and hugged him._

_"OH THANK YOU SO MUCH!" She was seriously strong, and even though Kid was a reaper it was starting to hurt.  
_

_"Maka, you're. crushing... me." Kid chocked out_

_"Oh! I'm sorry, I forget I'm strongest in this form." Then Kid noticed it, Maka's eyes gleamed. She was crying!_

_"Don't cry! I'm so sorry for whatever I said, just don't cry please!"_

_"They're tears of joy silly." She replied, smiling at him_

_"Oh, okay. Mind if I ask you a question?"_

_"Shoot."_

_"Why did you change so drastically?"_

_Maka smiled at him some more, "Oh! Well you see, I'm a hybrid. I wasn't bitten, I was born. My mother Kami, was a vampire, and Spirit there is just human. This is my vampire form. Because weapons have transformative abilities, I work somewhat the same way. At any time when I'm not in this form, my vampire blood can be partially active. When I use my abilities or feel blood lust, it is kind of like a weapon's partial transformation. The transformation you just saw fully awakens my vampire blood, because the weapon blood transforms as well. I'm older because this is the age at which I will stop aging permanently, much like you, because reapers stop aging at young adult are too, don't they?"_

_Kid was suddenly reminded, and it somewhat hurt him, but he didn't show Maka. "Well, in a sense. I can control my aging after I reach adolescence, and when father steps down I will need to control it so I can continue the Shibusen legacy."_

_Maka still sensed it, however, she could sense his Soul in pain, and she resented herself a bit for hurting one of the first people to accept her; one that wasn't obligated by blood to do so." She didn't tell him but decided to change the topic of conversation._

_"By the way, I don't only live on blood." She mumbled._

_"What?"_

_"I don't only live on blood, I figured I should tell you just in case."_

_"Really? Why not?"_

_"It's a genetic thing, I'm the only known hybrid to ever live, so apparently I'm able to eat food like a normal human, but it doesn't do much for me, not as much as blood does anyways."_

_"Interesting, well even though I'm a reaper and technically living-dead as well, I can eat food too."_

_"Hmm, really? I was wondering what you guys do to survive."_

_"What? Did you think we eat souls?"_

_"No, weapons do that."_

_"Only to get stronger though."_

_Maka mouthed an 'O' like she was a little kid being explained something for the first time. _

_'Well, technically she is.' Kid thought_

_The two talked to each other, mainly asking questions that sounded like two scientists learning about different species. Like they were so alien to each other. But that's what they were. Maka's kind hid in the shadows, away from others for the best for everyone, and reapers were even smaller in number. They talked throughout the day and well into the night. _

_Kid learned that Maka wasn't too fond of the idea of feeding on humans, so instead she hunted pre-kishins. Her mother sometime fed on pre-kishins, but usually stuck to humans, specific ones called familiars. She told him that familiars are humans whom vampire have performed the ceremonia osculor, or sacred kiss, on. Kid told her her knew what it means, because it was important for a reaper to know every language and the burial rites and customs for the dead of various cultures. Maka in turn told Kid she also knew various languages, and so the two started speaking in any language they could think of. Since they were still learning, however, sometimes they would change the language to avoid sounding stupid when they were stuck. The two took fun in learning about each other through various languages._

_Maka continued on, saying that familiars are basically bonded to one vampire for life. "A common side effect for familiars is that they develop an attraction to the vampire master or mistress. It may seem like love to most, ad some humans see it that way, but we see it more as an obsession, a fixation on their master, as it's basically that unhealthy. The vampire doesn't just need to bite a human to have a familiar though, we need to drink each other's blood, which is also conveniently the first two steps in becoming a vampire. This is because the third step is death. A person must die with the blood in their system to be a half-turned, and last, they need to feed on blood. Human blood. Anyways, it's easier if the person turning into a vampire is submissive to the vampire, because they are usually the ones to turn them, and by turn, I mean kill. Familiars are so infatuated with their masters that they wouldn't do anything that causes any harm of any kind to their master, and would even die for them. It's a bit more extreme than what I hear the bond between a meister and weapon is. As comrades, I guess its expected for some weapons to die for their meister or vice-versa, but that bond is breakable. The bond between a vampire and their familiar is a bit one-sided, and lasts forever. Its only reversible in early stages, such as if the vampire hasn't given blood yet, then it wears off in a couple of hours to a few days."_

_Kid was so curious about what she had to say, he urged her to talk more about vampires, especially when she already seemed so knowledgeable on the subject of meisters and weapons._

_"I just know the basics about meisters and weapons, but if you insist, I guess I could tell you a bit more on familiars. Well, let's see, typically a familiar is seen as important and shouldn't be fed on more than once every 48 hours, but a lot of vampires who lack discipline break that rule. Also there's a rule that states familiars should be treated fairly and with respect, compassion, and affection, not be be abused or mistreated. Familiars should be willing, not necessarily told about being bitten, but there should be at least a pre-existing bond strong enough for a familiar to accept the vampire. The codex allows vampires to use seductive powers if they are desperate to drink, instead of needing consent. Familiars may act as many positions in a vampire's life, such as a personal accountant, chef, or maid and sometimes are married, like mama and papa were. Papa wasn't really a familiar though, because mama never gave him any blood. So he's just attracted to mama, but still, you get the point."_

_"Hmm, interesting, so you said something about a codex?" Kid was intrigued, Maka sounded like she was talking about a fiction book._

_"Oh yeah, Lord Dracula put a codex in place to keep the vampire population under control. Anyone under his domain who breaks the law is subject to a Blood Trial, to which one from the noble lineage will drink the blood of the accused. This is to determine if they are lying, any found guilty are subject to being burned alive. It may seem harsh, but the codex is pretty simple. The only reason things like the number of times one feeds on a familiar is because it would be impossible to get the familiar to testify against their master, that AND the fact that the nobles don't see humans as all that important. One of their lifetimes is a blink of an eye to an elder like Dracula. Instead, they sometimes prefer to feed on other vampires. It's a bit more... intimate though, feeding on a vampire than a human. Usually vampires will do so with either their sires or those whom they have sired themselves, as it is usually a sign of complete devotion."_

_After some more chatting, Maka mentioned that she didn't socialize much, as she's a vampire and not many know how to deal with that. When Kid offered her an opportunity to meet his weapon partners Liz and Patti, Maka said she wasn't too crazy about the idea. Kid understood, and promised to keep her secret. He and Maka pinky swore, because both found a spit handshake was too gross. That was the basis of their bond, a secret. It may have seemed fun to them at first, but later they would learn to realize that is wasn't as easy as one thought, and that keeping secrets more often than not lead to consequences._

_Towards the end of the conversation, Maka changed back because she thought it was weird for a grown woman to act like a little kid. The shadows surrounded her once again, forming bats, but all they did was swarm, blocking the view of Maka instead of resting on her for a moment as they did before._

_It was the most hauntingly beautiful thing that he ever saw._

* * *

"I'll get that for you," Maka said, snapping Kid out of his reverie. She noticed Kid didn't have any weapons with him, and that the pre-kishin hadn't ble dout enough to die yet. Instead of wasting his time she felt around for something to kill it with.

On her right hip rested a coiled whip, but that would be an inefficient way to kill it. She had a gun on her lower right leg in a holster hidden by her boot, but she didn't want to make any noise out in the forest, just to attract people before Kid could reap the souls. She felt her left leg and her hand met the hilt of the throwing knives she had in the holster.

Bingo.

With a sudden flick of the wrist, she threw a knife into the thing's back, severing its spine. It raveled into ribbons and then wrapped up into a single red soul surrounded by a bunch of other blue ones.

Kid went over to the red soul and put it in a small satchel on his left while collecting the blues one by one and placing them into an identical satchel that rested on his left. Maka sat down on a low branch.

"So how are things, Kid?" She asked; she was in a fully transformed state and felt as if the way she looked bothered him. When he turned his back on her to collect some other souls, she changed. He turned back to see a younger Maka, now 16 years of age.

"I'm okay, I guess. Hey, can I ask you something?"

Maka was worried, she knew she didn't need to be, but she still was, "Shoot."

"I'm worried for you, the students in Shibusen are getting stronger and are even more anxious to go out for more souls. I'm worried that you're not getting enough food. I guess what I'm asking is are you okay? And don't lie to me."

"Well, this was the first blood I had in over two weeks, and I guess I shouldn't be doing that, but every time you tell me where to find another pre-kishin either another one of the students gets it first or comes in when I'm about to attack. Sometimes when I'm fighting one a student comes by and stops it, thinking I was about to be killed. I can't fight in front of them or they might start having questions about me. I guess what I'm trying to say is, it's hard. To be honest, I don't think I can do another two-week fasting. It's not how the cycle goes, I should gradually prolong the fasting times, I'm not even full-born and I'm starting to feed like one. I'm worried Kid, I really am." Her voice was grave, somewhat helpless. He couldn't stand hearing her tell him about her struggle to find another food source, if she kept it up, she could get ill and die.

"Then it's settled then."

"What are you talking about?"

"My father told me to watch over you, and I'm going to do just that. Here," he reached into his coat and pulled out papers.

Application papers.

"They're all filled out. I asked father if you could attend Shibusen. He liked the idea but said that you would have to come willingly. I figured if you weren't doing well I'd offer you the chance to attend. You'd be in the same class as me as you're more than able to fend for yourself. The papers are all filled out and Spirit also agreed, but only if you wanted to. It's entirely your choice, but it would mean a lot to me if you accepted. I... We just want you to be safe, and it would be easier for me to ensure that if you were to attend. So will you please attend, for me if not for yourself?"

Maka thought it was too good to be true, "Wait, what about needing a weapon, if we were to resonate they could found out what I am."

"You could train under Professor Stein, he can teach you to be autonomous, if you so choose, but he would need to know the reason why, as would the other staff, but they would be required to keep a secret under confidentiality laws. Once you were enrolled you would also have a dual-citizenship of sorts, you would still be under vampire codex laws and customs, as well as the rules for meisters and general student rules, but you would still have the rights and perks that come with both. You would also still keep your noble title if you so choose."

"And ONLY the staff would know, right?"

"And me, and whomever else you choose to swear to secrecy. But otherwise, yes." Maka ran up and hugged Kid.

"Thank you so much Kid." She said into his chest, because he was a whole neck and head taller than her.

"Congratulations, Maka. Welcome to Shibusen."


	2. Chapter 2:First Day pt 1

For once in Maka's 17 years of life, she was nervous. Not scared, nor frightened; but nervous. Not confident. An angst-ridden teenager.

She had to admit; she kind of liked it.

Never before had Maka had to worry about making new friends, she was almost always alone. She didn't really worry about being Kid's friend because no one told her that she was going to need to deal with him for a long time until after she departed from the Death Room that first day. By then, it was like she and Kid known each other for years.

Never before had she worried about not making friends, friends weren't necessary, allies were. It didn't matter if your colleagues didn't get along with you, you dealt with it. Never before had she needed to deal with being a normal teenager, she wasn't and she accepted that fact a long time ago; she was a product of a human weapon and his vampire meister. This was as normal as she was going to get. Never before had she worried about grades, her servants, usually mother's familiars, tutored her in everything she could possibly think of. They never berated her, never commented on where she ought to be in her studies, and never compared her to anything. She hated that almost as much as she hated being passed over to Spirit, her useless father. Maka was competitive, she strived to be the best in everything from equestrian training to culinary arts, from the arts to the art of war. She always studied hard, in fear that she would be considered unworthy of her lineage. She studied to be prepared for all the world had to throw at her. But she didn't study for one of the most important things in the world.

She never studied how to interact with others.

Sure, she knew proper etiquette, how to be a great hostess and such, but not how to be a normal teenager.

But she still liked it, because for once in her life, she got to worry about the most trivial things and think it was the end of the world. She knew that far worse things could happen to her, and those things made 'not fitting in' look like worrying about the color of the sky.

She was nervous, and because of that, she had no clue that she was running late, until she looked at the clock that was in the kitchen. It was 7:54 am! Kid told her she had to be there at 8 am if she wanted a tour of the school. She needed one, because even though she had been in the Death Room, the entrance was the first set of double doors before the staircases that went upstairs and the hallways went either left or right. Maka had barely any idea what the layout was like.

She grabbed a thermos filled with hot chamomile tea, sweetened with honey. Maka didn't feel like eating much today, and it's not like she needed human food to survive. She grabbed her backpack packed with her laptop and a couple of notebooks, as well as one 2-inch binder to hold spare syllabi and papers from her classes. As she walked out the door, she realized she lived a couple of blocks from the school. She knew she shouldn't be using her powers much, especially since that would make her need for some sort of nourishment greater, but she decided that if she was going to be late, it would make Kid have an OCD attack, so it was best not to keep him waiting.

So she ran.

Maka zoomed past people, cars, and some pets without any of them noticing, other than a slight breeze going past them. She continued to dodge everything in her path, making sure she wouldn't collide with someone and give her secret away. Pretty soon she took the the rooftops, where she would only have to dodge the occasional slow pigeon or two.

It was 7:58 when she arrived at Shibusen. Now all she needed was a place to stop without anyone noticing her appear seemingly from nowhere. There was a dark side of the outside building where no one was, as the sun hadn't shown there yet, and it was cold to everyone else. Maka paid no mind to the temperature, but it obviously bothered one girl who forgot her jacket, and even some of those who had a light sweater rather than a coat. She stopped in the shadows and fixed her hair as she caught her breath. Before she could walk out of the shadowy side, however, a loud voice rang out.

"HEY TSUBAKI! WHO DOES THIS GIRL THINK SHE IS, DOES SHE THINK SHE CAN APPEAR OUT OF NOWHERE AND TRY TO DO IT BETTER THAN ME!? I'LL SHOW HER! I'M A GOD OF THE SHADOWS!" The voice came from behind her, and for a moment she was scared shitless; but when she had turned around, she only laughed.

"WHAT'S SO FUNNY? DO YOU KNOW WHO YOU'RE LAUGHING AT? WHO ARE YOU, AN INSIGNIFICANT MORTAL, TO MOCK A GOD LIKE ME!"

Maka tried to control herself, but she kept giggling. He was just a normal human, not one of the lords of shadow. As Maka continued to look at the boy, she realized her own stupidity from being scared earlier; she had not sensed any monster energy. If he were truly a lord of shadow, his power would be so great, it would basically dominate her. The soul of a lord of shadow was so imposing, she would feel like a piece of dirt in that lord or lady's presence.

This boy was strong; she'd give him that; but only strong for a human.

She started giggling manically again, which only further infuriated the boy. Maka tried to control herself as she noticed he was armed with a chain-scythe, while she was all ready for the kill.

And fast healing, which led to her secret getting out.

"OI, TSUBAKI THIS GIRL IS STILL GIGGLING! IS SHE MENTALLY CHALLENGED OR SOMETHING?"

Funny thing was, Maka was thinking the same thing of Black*Star as he continued to shout. Maka also found it amusing how if he was like her, he wouldn't be saying such treasonous things, but it would only be treasonous if he was subject to any of the other lords who ruled over the supernatural. Lord Death was a lord of shadow, yes, but his job was more to act like the police force and security against the witches and kishins. They were those who turned their back on the others, and decided to serve demons, or sought to become one. Most kishins turned out of choice, and witches were easy to succumb to madness, causing them to lose their morality and usually serve demons. It wasn't usually their fault, it was their nature. As such, there were a few, like Kim, who were raised in a way that encouraged fighting the madness. These few were also represented by Lord Death, as many of the others were skeptical. Some like Dracula simply believed that they were in too small a number to be considered a faction. As such, Lord Death was a kind lord, more tolerant than any other lord.

Meeting Black*Star, Maka decided that Lord Death had to have extreme amounts of self-control and tolerance.

He was starting to get on her nerves as he continued to yell about how amazing he was. Maka's demeanor started to change, and she suddenly changed from amused, to bored, to downright annoyed. Her facial expressions started to show this, and it would have been scary even to Black*Star had he not had his eyes closed when being so stuck up.

"Ummm, Black*star..." Maka noticed his weapon partner finally spoke

"NOT NOW TSUBAKI! A GOD LIKE ME NEEDS TO TEACH HIS SUBJECTS A LESSON EVERY NOW AND THEN!" Maka heard enough.

" HEY!" she yelled catching his attention "You shouldn't talk to your weapon like that, you should listen to her every once in a while and with the way you go on and on about yourself I'm surprised that she hasn't left and gotten another meister already! jeeze, stop being a self-absorbed brat. By the way, I'm not mental, I was laughing because of how stupid I felt letting you scare me for a second there! Sheesh, now if you would excuse me, I have someone to meet. GREAT! Now I'm gonna be lectured 'cause you took up 3 damn minutes of my time." With that, Maka started walking away from an open-mouthed Black*Star. She made it right in front of the school, finally in the light. She paused for a minute to let her eyes adjust a bit, as she was basically attacked with sun right in her face.

"HEY WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING? NO ONE TALKS TO A GOD LIKE ME THAT WAY!" UGH. Did he ever shut up?

Black*Star ran straight for Maka, now weaponless, as she noticed. Maybe that girl grew a brain and left him, maybe she was giving him another chance and she was the last straw. Whatever it was, she didn't care. He was weaponless, and it was going to be too easy.

Or so she thought.

Black*Star had his hand ready, armed with his wavelength, and swung at Maka.

And missed.

He was almost sure that he was going to hit her, but she dodged last second, with the force of Black*Star's missed hit swinging him forward. Maka took the opportunity to knee him in the stomach, making him bend forward.

She made her hand much like a tiger's paw when people imitate a cat, bringing her fingers in so her palm was out. Maka struck Black*Star on his chin, making his head go up and his body stumble backwards. He regained his balance and Maka just kept moving as he kept trying to strike.

She kept dodging like he was going in slow motion. She decided to end the fight then and there, and calmly crouched down and kicked Black*Star in the chest, causing him to have a coughing fit.

Maka knelt down in front of Black*Star, putting one hand one his right shoulder. Some students who decided to watch the fight were astonished, as someone was crazy enough to help Black*Star before he was knocked out; he didn't give up easy.

Maka leaned in and whispered in his ear, "I know who you really are, you're that Tsubaki girl. That's why I kept dodging, I didn't feel like hitting someone with such a beautiful and kind soul."

Tsubaki turned back, smiling up at Maka; there was something about her that Tsubaki liked, but couldn't quite place.

Maka had known that the real Black*Star was on one of the spikes above her, so he couldn't see that Tsubaki changed back with Maka in the way. Black*Star took a dive, heading straight for Maka with his soul wavelength, as he thought Tsubaki had Maka distracted.

He was quiet, for once, but the loud scream that would soon come from the girl would satisfy his ego.

Or so he thought.

Maka quickly pushed Tsubaki out of the way and she did a back handspring, and her feet kicked Black*Star right in the face. She landed on his chest and jumped off quickly. Black*Star went for a swipe at her feet but she did another back handspring, as she would need to jump to do it, thus leaving Black*Star to swing at nothing while she did a few back walkovers to go next to Tsubaki.

"I'm sorry for the sudden shove, I just figured it would be terrible if your meister accidentally hurt you, especially attacking directly with his wavelength like that. Are you okay?" Maka seemed genuinely caring for Tsubaki, and she somewhat did. Maka may not have known the girl for very long, but she could tell Tsubaki was a sweet girl, and Maka didn't want to seem like a total bitch the first day of school. Tsubaki smiled at Maka.

"I'm fine, thank you. Sorry about Black*Star, he's really sweet once you get to know him though. And he may be a little mean, but he really does care. So I just want to let you know, I will _never_ leave my meister. Not if the world depended on it."

Maka couldn't believe it, '_I guess the stories about meisters and weapon's bonds being deep aren't just stories after all.'_

"Ahem." Maka turned around to find none other than Kid. With Stein.

Maka knew Stein well enough to know he was her father's first meister and that he still creeped Spirit out like no other. THANK GOD FOR STEIN!

"Oh hi, Kid. Hello, professor Stein." She smiled at the two innocently as if nothing had happened.

"Hello Maka, and how are you and Spirit doing?" Stein asked. There were students still gathered around, with their mouths open and eyes wide; still in shock that she had beaten Black*star so easily. Once they heard Stein, it made some sense.

_"Oh! So she's Spirit's daughter, eh? No wonder she's good, he's a deathscythe after all."_ She heard one girl whisper.

_"No way! Spirit's a total spazoid, she must get it from her mother, you know, the chick who made Spirit into a deathscythe."_ she heard another say

"_You mean she's Kami Albarn's daughter?"_

_"You mean Kami Satsuki."_ another joined in and corrected. Maka grew sadder, but listened to the conversation anyways, no matter how bad it could get, she needed to hear it.

_"What?"_

_"Yeah, you know how Spirit gets all sensitive when the subject of his daughter or Kami comes along, that's because they got divorced years ago. That girl was only eight when it happened, so she's seventeen, it happened nine years ago."_

Maka had enough of the conversation, she tried to tune it out, like background noise.

_"You're kidding" "How'd it happen?"_ said two voices at the same time. She turned her attention back to the professor.

"I'm doing well professor, but I'm not sure about papa, he and I have two different apartments and so I haven't sen him in a week. Wasn't he on a mission?"

Stein blinked, and then he turned his screw, as if in thought. "Oh yes, that's right. He should be getting back in a couple of days or so."

She was trying to tune it out, but she still caught the student's explanation.

_"Well, you know how Spirit's a dog around the ladies, well yeah, he was then and apparently even being married couldn't tie him down."_

"Whoo-hoo... horay!" Maka replied sarcastically. Stein gave a look that seemed to say, "sorry for bringing it up."

Kid finally had the chance to jump into the conversation. "So, Maka, are you going to tell me what happened to make yourself ten minutes late? I'm not as annoyed as I would be though because 10 is horizontally symmetrical if you just right the 1 like a lowercase L."

Maka had noticed that she was blocking Kid's view of Black*Star, so she stepped a bit to the side and looked at them. Tsubaki, finally in her human form, was trying to get Black*Star to stop pouting.

When Kid saw what had happened, he busted out laughing.

"OH MY SHINIGAMI! HAHAHA, Liz, Patti, you gotta see this!" Kid called, Maka went a little tense. She heard so much about Kid's weapons, she wondered if kid ever mentioned her, or what they were like. Maka wouldn't know what to do if her only friend's weapons didn't like her.

"What is it no- HOLY SHIT!"

A tall dirty-blonde came out from behind the crowd, holding an emery board in one hand; she was obviously busier making sure her nails were okay rather than watching the fight. To Maka, it seemed like Black*Star would pick a fight over what color his hair was, (which he once actually did, unbeknownst to Maka).

The girl had deep blue eyes, and her silky hair went down to the ends of her shoulder blades.

Next to her was a girl probably about 16 years of age, she looked much like her older sister, but instead had slightly lighter blue eyes, and shorter, and her hair was a lighter blonde. Both wore red halters that were cropped to show their flat stomachs, white ties, and both wore cowboy hats, but the younger one had denim shorts whereas her sister had jeans.

When Maka looked down, she noticed that they both wore the same black heeled boots, but the older one's were almost completely covered by her jeans.

"Hello." Maka said, trying to be nice and innocent.

"Haaaiiiiii! Did you really just kick Black*Star's ass like that?" Patti was excited about the new girl in front of her, and though she came across as a little childish, it reminded Maka of someone else she knew, someone else who seemed like they would need to be handled with care.

Maka nodded, "Yeah, is that a big deal? I thought this school allowed fights with a teacher around to observe, and Professor Stein was here, so I figur-"

"IS THAT A BIG DEAL?!" Liz yelled, "Black*Star hasn't lost a fight in over a year, not including the times he tried to fight Kid and us. But still!"

"Yah!" Patti joined, "And he's supposed to be an assassin for Shibusen."

"Him? An assassin?" Maka chuckled, "The only time I can see him being silent but deadly is when he passes gas." Maka said bluntly, and with a completely straight face, too. Liz and Patti busted out laughing as Kid cracked a smile, and Tsubaki tried to comfort Black*Star as a string of curses flew from his mouth.

"I'm starting to like you already." said Liz

"HAY!" Patti started, "I got one question."

"Okay, shoot." Kid chuckled, and Maka did mentally, as she already knew that they were twin pistols.

"Do you like giraffes?"

Maka was baffled, "Not the type of question I expected, but yah, they're cute I guess."

Patti gripped Maka in a hug that would've crushed any normal person. "YAY! I like her Kiddo! Can we keep her?"

Kid gave a sweet smile, these girls were the few he could confide in, the few that accepted him, even with his OCD tendencies. He was so glad Liz and Patti liked Maka. He chuckled at Patti's question.

"Maka's her own person, so we can't keep her like a pet, but we can have her come over sometime."

"Okie!" Patti grinned, and turned to Maka "Do you think you can come over sometime Maka?"

"Sure" Maka smiled sweetly. Patti was sweet.

"YAY! MAKA'S COMING OVER! MAKA'S COMING OVER! MAKA'S COMING OVER!" Patti kept chanting the words over and over again until Maka spoke.

"I'm gonna guess, you're Liz and you're Patti," she said pointing at the correct one both times.

"How'd you know?" Liz asked, and then realized something "Wait, how do you know Kiddo-kun?"

Maka laughed lightly at Liz's sudden change from impressed to 'WTF?!'.

"Well, Deathscythe's my dad so-"

"Woah, YOU'RE his daughter?" Liz was amazed.

"Yeah." She replied, "Sadly." As if reading Liz's thoughts, she continued on.

"Yes, I understand that I look nothing like him; I get my looks from my mother. Yes, I know, my dad's a manwhore, he's been like that forever. Yes, I get that he's 'hot' as almost every woman his age has already told m-"

"I'm guessing you get those questions a lot?" Liz asked sympathetically

"Whenever I come across people who know him, yeah, pretty much." Maka sighed

"It's alright. Patti and I won't judge you because of your dad." Liz smiled back at Maka and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Thanks Liz."

"Oh yeah, and how did you know again?"

"Well as I was saying, Spirit, being a deathscythe, sometimes brought me over to work when he needed to talk to Lord Death. I met Kid when I was 12, so Kid was 13 at the time and we talked one day while the parents where busy chatting. I got dragged along to places a lot with papa, and I did so just because I had nothing better to do. So eventually I met Kid in the Death Room. It was technically bound to happen, sooner or later."

"Hmm, I see," Liz seemed like she wasn't buying the story.

It was mainly true, except for the reason she was there. She had come with papa, but not for Spirit- Shinigami business. It was more to ensure that Kid understood why he needed to go alone for reaps. Dracula wanted his kind kept secret, unless one of his own chose to expose themselves. Only then would it be okay, and if the matter had any risk of going large-scale, there would need to be something done about it.

"So... Kid... you've been holding out on us for FIVE YEARS! Why didn't we get to meet her sooner?" Liz complained "She's so cute! I would just LOVE to dress her up one of these days! I bet you wanted her all for yourself, you're so selfish Kiddo." She was teasing, pouting, and being perverted all at once, making Kid's cheeks redden. Maka covered for him, as well as herself.

"Well I had to move around quite a bit when I was younger, so I was never here long enough to make a date to meet you, sometimes I had no clue when I would be coming here. I was bounced between mama and papa a lot. If it makes you feel any better, Kid spoke frequently and highly of you both. That's how I was able to tell you two apart so easily, it wasn't even much of a guess, really."

Liz seemed pleased at her cover-up. "So what did he say about us?"

"Well, the things I remember are that both of you are fun-loving. But you are more laid-back and Patti's spontaneous. He also said he appreciates that you guys can deal with him and his OCD. He's told me that both of you, while you're really pretty, can get shit-yourself scary. He notices the smallest things that people usually don't notice between sisters, like how Liz is better at nails than Patti, but Patti is somehow better at painting, especially giraffes. He really cares about you two, you know."

Liz and Patti both let out an "AWWWW!" and went to hug Kid, one sister on each side. It was all true, too. Kid had said all those things.

Forgetting all about professor Stein, she jumped when he said something about dissecting.

Turning around, she noticed that Stein was intimidating Black*Star with his creepy face. She jogged up to them.

"Uncle Stein! You know very well that under section 564-14b7a of the rule book says that no teacher is allowed to dissect anything other than the list of approved animals. I don't recall _human beings_ on the list, and especially not _students." _She made sure to add the students part, just in case he accidentally let her secret slip.

"UNCLE?!" Black*Star, Tsubaki, Liz, Patti, and even Kid said, confused beyond belief.

"Well, I'm _actually_ her godfather. But she just calls me Uncle Stein because it's more pleasant to the ears, and easier to say."

Black*Star busted out laughing. "BWAHAHAHA! STEIN'S YOUR GODFATHER!? YOU BETTER PRAY THAT THERE'S NEVER A DAY YOU'RE STUCK WITH HIM TO WATCH OVER YOU!"

Maka glared at him "HA! Joke's on you! I'm safe from being dissected, he gave my mother his word on that. She's holding him to it, and no one EVER crosses her without retribution. Just ask my papa. Besides, Stein scares the shit out of my papa. He's good company to have around, if you ask me."

Stein chuckled, "Oh! Almost forgot," he reached into his lab coat and pulled out a folded piece of paper. "Here's your schedule. Congratulations you're in the Crescent Moon class."

Kid chuckled, already knowing that Maka would be in his class, she unknowingly answered every question on the test correct. When she thought she was helping Kid with his homework because he"couldn't focus because of the asymmetry of the paper", or he decided to pop quiz her for the hell of it, she was actually answering test questions, which Kid would write down the answer to for her. He even told he he would make sure she's in his class. It was amazing how Maka could ace a test without even knowing about it, literally.

Liz and Patti squealed and congratulated Maka, who was also excited to be in the Crescent Moon class. Kid then walked up and congratulated Maka. Some students that overheard them dropped their jaws at her. To get a perfect score on an entrance exam was unheard of. Maka didn't want to look stupid, so she had slipped a 'mental note' to Kid.

_'What is this about the entrance exam?'_ she sent, a tad angry about not being told earlier.

Kid looked her in the eyes quickly as he sent back '_you did answer the questions, you just didn't know it. I didn't tell you about the test, asked you questions from time to time, and filled it out when I got back. Don't worry, you're not a sham.'_

Maka was relieved, and then the bell rang. It meant she had 15 minutes before classes started.

"Crap! Kid! I don't know where to go!" Maka was worried, she didn't want to get lost like a ditzy blonde and then have her smart-person rep. she was building be wasted.

"It's okay, let me see your schedule." Kid scanned over it. "You have the same classes as I do. Stein for your first four DWMA informative courses, which focus on combat techniques, tactics for missions, knowing your enemy, much like a research class, and independent study. You'll have lunch after those four courses because training's next. Then you have two rounds of Sid and Nygus for training exercises, mainly obstacle courses first and then individual training. Individual training can allow you to focus on everything from blending with your surroundings to survival methods. People have gotten lost and needed that before. You can work with Sid or Nygus to ask for help doing something or even another student. Stein also helps during most of these classes. After that, you get to study any subjects you want in the Study Hall, it's monitored by Marie Mjolnir, you've met her, blonde, an eye patch, nice lady."

"Kid, she's my godmother." Maka laughed as everyone's mouths dropped open again. "Sorry I didn't mention it earlier Kid."

"Wow, I'm not sure if I'm jealous of you now, or still pitying you." It was Black*Star, who was finally talking at a slightly raised, but more normal voice.

"Hello everyone," Tsubaki stood right next to Black*Star who was now next to Maka, since he walked up. "Maka, Black*Star has something to say to you."

Maka wasn't sure what to think yet, he seemed to have calmed down. It seemed like he wouldn't be annoying for a while."Um, sure, go ahead I guess."

Black*Star mumbled, "Maka, imsryuclbme." No one else could hear it, but Maka caught it.

"Apology accepted, by the way, we never officially introduced ourselves, I'm Maka." She put her hand out, ready to shake his own.

"HOW THE FUCK DID YOU HEAR THAT?! WHATEVER, NEVERMIND! I'M IMPRESSED! YOU ARE WORTHY TO BE A LOYAL FOLLOWER OF A BIG STAR LIKE ME! BLACK*STAR'S THE NAME, YOU'D DO WELL TO REMEMBER THAT WHEN I SURPASS GOD!" He took her hand and gave it a firm shake, and she returned it, trying not to break his hand. He may have went back to being loud, but there was a subliminal compliment in there, so she smiled.

"Will do." Everyone was shocked that the same girl who he must have annoyed all hell out of was actually getting along with him.

"SO I HEARD YOU HAVE THE SAME CLASSES AS US!" Black*star yelled happily

"Well I know I have the same classes as Kid" Maka started, "but by 'us' who do you mean, just you and Kid?"

"Actually Maka, he means all of us, weapons always have the same classes as their meisters." Tsubaki added in.

"That's right!" Patti added in, "It helps us to spend more time together and develop a stable bond to resonate through."

"That's pretty smart, but when mama and papa went here there were only specific classes that meisters and weapons could take together." Maka said, recalling what her parents had told her about the school.

"Well there's only 5 minutes left so we better start getting to class, or Stein might just dissect us for being late. Minus Maka." Said Liz

They all started on their way down the corridors of Shibusen.

"Oh great! Well he might dissect you guys, but that means you'll die quickly, he'll make my life a living hell. And I never got my tour!" Maka complained

Kid nudged Maka's arm gently as he fell into step beside her, "Hey, we can still take a tour after school. I'll show you around then, okay?"

"Thanks Kid, I'm going to need it." She smiled up at him, both relieved her first day was going well.

* * *

They arrived in the Crescent Moon classroom. It was arranged with desks in tiers, much like a college classroom. The desks were a nice rich cherry wood, and the tops were gilded, topped off with a protective glass so that the gilding would not be damaged. On the ends of each row was a simple gilded carving of Lord Death's mask.

"As the best in the school, we are given a few perks here and there," commented Kid "including lovely ornate desks, and really cozy seats."

"Take a seat, class is about to begin." Stein said; he then turned to Maka, still standing next to Kid. "We need to assign you a seat, so stand up here next to me. I also need you, Kid, to announce something."

Kid seemed to have understood some sort of hidden message in Stein's words. Maka just stood there next to Kid as the students shuffled in and took their seats.

...

Soul walked in the class right before the bell rung, earning a dirty look from Stein. Next to his desk were Death the Kid and some girl Soul had never seen before. She wasn't a student at this academy, because if she was, she'd be one of the handful of girls who either hadn't joined his fan club nor had at least asked about being his partner, and that would mean she would have to be insane. Or, maybe she did ask, and got a clue as he told her off, like he did every other girl; he honestly couldn't remember most of the girls that had asked to be his partner. He decided he didn't recognize her as a fangirl, as he didn't remember her, and she wasn't even looking at him. Soul had a love-hate relationship with his fangirls; it's useful to have a bunch of girls who would do many, _many,_ things at your beck and call, but he didn't like the attention much. He liked the recognition of being cool, but not all the wannabes flocking around him.

She had her blonde hair tied into twin pigtails, and wore them with black ribbons. She wore a black and grey dress, the grey body separated from the black skirt with a belt. There were straps on the shoulders, and there were sleeves that were off the shoulder, and ruffled up a bit, reaching her mid upper arm. The black belt was simple and had a circular buckle over the small section of leather that attached to the stretchy part, whatever it was called. The bottom of the dress was a flowy sort, ending mid-thigh. It was more scrunched up at the top, and had a lace-like pattern lining the bottom, but not actual lace. To go along with the dress were high black suede boots. They ended right over her knees and hugged her legs enough to stay up.

She may not have had a generous bust, but she was cute, he decided. She had nice legs, and her butt looked good in the really short dress. Pigtails, however, were just that. They were cute, not sexy, not gorgeous, only cute. He couldn't see her face, but he could already picture a child's face.

Stein turned the screw in his head. "Good morning students. I understand this is the first day of school, and that technically this school basically never ends or has a long break unless there are vacations or leave of absences made, but as this is a new year, you have just earned that much experience. You are grouped first by experience in time, and then by quality of work. If, however, you have little experience, but great abilities, you may advance to the next group that suits you best. These cases are very rare in Shibusen, as it is already academically challenging. These cases are even rarer with autonomous meisters and weapons, as they play both roles in battle. Usually a weapon-meister pair that are good students individually can work together to beat the best of students, especially in training, since they have two catalysts for resonance, these catalysts of course being themselves."

Soul had no clue as to why Stein decided to repeat something they all knew.

He noticed that the girl's head was turned to Kid, and Kid was smiling back at her. They looked like they knew each other quite well; as by how he was holding her hand. Soul could see that her knuckles went white, and she must have been nervous. Kid whispered something that Soul couldn't hear in her ear and she calmed down.

"You'll be fine, just be yourself, minus the fangs." Kid said. She tried to hold back a laugh.

She was quietly saying something that Soul couldn't hear, as he was in the middle section, third row, with Black*Star and Tsubaki on his left, and Kid usually on his right, with Liz or Patti next to him, as they usually alternated seats. It didn't bother Kid much that the girls were both on his right, as Kid's seat was directly in the center of the room. Soul noticed, however, that Liz and Patti were both one seat over, with Liz at the last seat. Perhaps they were arguing with Kid. For all Soul knew, they just could be joking with him and trying to ruin his symmetry.

"Today we have a new student, as in a brand-new student." Stein said

_'So that's why she's here? Was that why Stein gave the explanation, is she really that good?' _Soul perked his ears a bit more to the topic of conversation. Not many new students were important enough to be mentioned by Stein.

"She has never attended Shibusen before and I expect you all to welcome her to the family with open arms. Now I'll allow us to meet Miss Albarn here and ask a few questions, and Kid will go after with short announcement this morning." Stein was sitting backwards in his chair, as usual, and rolled back for the girl to take the floor. She let go of Kid's hand and walked up to where Stein was.

"Hi. My name's Maka Albarn. Before you start asking, yes my dad's Spirit Albarn, the deathscythe. My mother is Kami Satsuki. They have been divorced for nine years, going on ten soon. Yes my papa's always been that way. I know I look nothing like my father, I'm proud to say I got my looks from my mother's side. I'm a meister and have fought pre-kishin before, just not for the DWMA." Some students were piqued, she continued on quickly. It was obvious she wanted to get it over with.

"I was born in Japan and raised all around the world, literally. I moved around a lot because of mama and papa's missions, after they divorced, I moved around more because of them fighting for custody over me. Often when I went to Japan I was raised more by the staff than my mama, as she has a mission almost all the time. Papa won the custody battle, so I've been here for about a week. It's nice to finally have come back here, especially since I got to move into my old apartment. Yes, I have my own place, I refuse to deal with whatever lady-of-the-week he brings home." Some students chuckled, others pitied her; she said the last part so bitterly. Nonetheless she continued smiling as if nothing happened.

"I specialize in multiple weapons, especially katanas, throwing knives, stock whips, bullwhips and longeing whips, hook swords, bow and arrow, the chakram, sais, and a type of 15th century turkish kilij. It's much like a scimitar, just the end is weighted. I've also tried my hand at the zhua, hand claws, long swords, broad swords, rapiers, more guns than I care to recount, spears, tessen, and javelins. My favorite weapon however, would have to be scythes."

_Now THAT was interesting_, Soul thought.

"I know, it's odd being that I hate my papa,and he's a scythe, but that's what mama was best at, I guess I just followed in her footsteps. I enjoy cooking and trying new foods, otherwise I probably would have starved to death moving around all the time. I also enjoy reading, performing arts, and gymnastics. Any questions?"

Maka's list was so extensive that, by the time she was finished, everyone's eyes were wide or mouths were open. Maka took notice, but it obviously didn't seem to be phase-worthy to her.

"What? Is there something wrong?" A few in the class busted out laughing, but Kid commented.

"It's quite a long list Maka; saying that with a straight face like it's nothing is kind of funny. Most here specialize in a couple types of weapons, especially since most are partnered up. Their eyes were wide because other than you, Black*Star, Stein, other staff, and myself know how to deal with a list as extensive as yours."

"Ooooh." Maka chuckled a bit, and turned back to notice quite a few students raising their hands.

"Umm, yeah, you with the blonde hair and loose white shirt. Sorry, I don't know you're names." She said giving a quick bow to the class.

The boy stood. "Name's Hiro. So now I have two questions. One, why'd you bow like that? Two, where the hell did you learn to use that many weapons?"

Others shook their heads in agreement. Even Soul was curious as to what her life must have been like.

"Well, to answer your first question, I guess it was just habit, I almost didn't notice because it's customary in Japan to bow during an apology. It's losing popularity among our age group, but I was raised well by the staff. It's almost automatic for me," she laughed a bit, probably a little embarrassed.

"I learned to use so many weapons because while my mama was great with Scythes, she has worked with others before. I guess you could say I thought ahead, many meisters end up using another weapon from time to time on missions. Not only that, but traveling round the world, you really got to learn self-defense, especially when traveling alone like I do, and it's fun to learn new techniques and train, makes it easier when you have to improvise."

"What do you mean by improvise?" A girl with pink hair asked out loud.

"That's Kim, by the way." Kid commented.

"I don't always fly from place to place, and in the cities, don't get me started, this one time in Japan, I'm walking around in Yakuza territory in Kobe, which is actually the head family's headquarters. Kobe had my favorite place to get something to eat. So I'm eating ramen and some underling decides to grab my butt as he's walking by. His tattoos were covered up, so of course I don't stop to think, and yell at him and curse him out. The guy has a simple switchblade and I have my purse and the book I was reading." She paused, deciding not to go into details, "Let's just say books are very helpful." She said it with a smile on her face, implying that it was easy for her.

_What a load of crap..._ Soul thought. He raised his hand up.

Maka looked up at him. She noticed his red eyes and white hair, thinking that he was one of her kind for a second there, but white hair was only present in old vampires after they had rested for quite some time without feeding, after a self-induced coma of a sort, and he would have looked old and wrinkly. She concluded he was just an albino with the surprising ability to tan. Or perhaps he died his hair, and the red eyes were contacts or a genetic abnormality.

"Yes?"

"I call bullshit!" Soul yelled out.

Maka smiled, and had a look of knowing written all over her face, "Do you now?" She raised an eyebrow as she asked the question.

It wasn't mad, or annoyed, or caught-in-a-lie sounding. It was a superior, almost a ready-to-prove-you-wrong tone of voice.

"YAH, as a matter of fact, I do!" Soul stated, standing up. "There's no way a gang member can loose to a girl your size armed only with a book. Maybe if you said some sort of weapon, but a book! Ha! I say nay!" Soul retorted

"YO SOUL," It was Black*Star. "I'D WATCH WHAT YOU SAY, SHE'S GOT SKILL, ENOUGH TO GET ME GOOD! GOT QUITE A KICK THERE TOO, BUT IT WAS THIS MORNING, OTHERWISE SHE'D NEVER BEAT A GOD LIKE ME!" She got Black*Star?! Ha! He must have been joking!

"HA! Good one, Black*Star. I'm not falling for it though, especially since she said it herself, she's been taught by 'staff'. She seems really frilly and too much of a princessy-type to really be a student here. What do a bunch of nannies and butlers have against trained fighters?"

Soul was really thinking that all this girl wanted was attention, it'd be fun to break her down. She seemed really full of bullshit, and maybe if she wasn't such a unbelievable liar, he would have just kept his mouth shut. Soul hated people that lied for attention.

It was what his family did, what HE once did, for a living, FOR A LIFE.

Maka looked over to Kid. He knew what was going to happen, especially since Soul had to test Maka. OF ALL PEOPLE.

"His name's Soul," Kid sighed out, already exasperated with his antics.

That was the answer Maka was looking for, but all she did was say:

"Bodyguards and senseis."

"What?" Soul was confused, as was Kid. If Maka knew Soul better, she probably would have said a few choice words, making a sailor proud somewhere in the world. Apparently today, she decided to take the 'holier than thou' approach to this.

"You said nannies and butlers, I said staff. You jumped the gun and assumed I meant nannies and butlers. Sure I was taught many things by them, but the ones that taught me how to fight were bodyguards, as well as my senseis. By the way, do you happen to know what Stein did five years ago, before teaching here at the academy? I think not." Maka rested her case at that, thinking Soul would get the memo.

He didn't.

"What the fu-"

"Language." Stein chided

"Alright. What the hell are you talking about?"

Maka sighed, he was really slow, wasn't he? She thought so.

"Let me tell you a bit more about myself. The Satsuki family is one of the most influential families in Japan, and even the global market. They have companies in almost every industry, from medical supplies and hospitals to making military-grade weapons. As the only heir to the head family of such a powerful group, I was guarded by my mother's most trusted friends, including Stein-sensei. I trained so I wouldn't have to be smothered in an airtight cage of subjection, inhibition, conformity, and confinement. He's also my god father, so don't you dare accuse me of lying if you know nothing about me." The she said the last part in a commanding manner, just what you would expect from a bitchy princess.

"So what is Stein was your sensei or godfather? You could be an idiot for all I know!"

"Then how did I get into the crescent moon class?" She refuted calmly. Maka was GREAT at debate.

Soul was still spouting nonsense. "You said you have an influential family, who knows? And your father is a deathscythe. So I call bull, on ALL OF IT."

Maka had enough of the petty argument. She sighed, and turned to Stein, "May I?"

Stein turned his screw in thought until it clicked into place. "I think it would be a lovely learning experience for everyone if they saw what a fight between an autonomous weapon and meister looked like, and perhaps some good training for both of you. So go for it, if you like"

Maka turned back to Soul, "Alright Soul, why don't we have a little fun? **Fight me**." She stated it like she was toying with him, and it wasn't a request, but a command. No student had ever dared speak to Soul that way, especially with his intimidating looks.

Black*Star and a few others chuckled, they thought he was a goner. Students started betting on who would win or lose and how fast it would be over.

'_Maka loses, two minutes'. 'Soul wins; quarter-hour.' 'Maka wins barely, 4 minutes in.'_

Soul kept hearing bets, but a couple had shocked him, and hurt his ego a bit.

_'Maka wins, less than a minute.' _

_'We both know she'll win, so I say it'll take her at least three, benefit of the doubt for Soul. My godly presence might give him something to fight for if not his own pride.'_

_'Hayy, I say she takes over a minute, but less than three.'_

Soul couldn't believe it, Liz, Black*Star and Patti were all betting against him, (respectively).

Maka took a nice long stretch to the sky, as if just waking up. She came up to Soul to shake hands.

"Might as well shake your hand for giving me some time to have fun. Besides, once we're done, one of us won't be able to shake hands with the other."

Wow. She sounded really nice yet really cocky at the same time. It was like she was some sort of personality-wise impossibility, arrogant people weren't sweet or nice, they were always-... Soul stopped thinking for a moment, one of his best friends was Black*Star.

He was arrogant yet nice... at times.

Maka went to stand across from him, and bowed for the second time that day. Her right hand was in a fist, thumb out, against the palm of her open left hand, fingers still together. She suddenly seemed to shift her weight on to the balls of her feet. Black*Star called her on it,

"Hey Maka, why cat's stance in heels?"

"Fine then, I'll convert them." She bent down, Soul heard a click and she shifted her hands to her other foot, and another click was heard.

"Hold these for me then, I don't want to walk in the boots without these heels. The heels are removable, but I like it with them on." She tossed them over to Black*Star who nodded and caught it. The bottom soles were flexible enough to move from the height of the heel to the floor, but not flimsy, perfect combat boots in disguise.

"Alright. We're going to watch a battle between an autonomous weapon and meister. Let's see how they work, and I want you to right down any observations you may think are important to highlight on. Maka' you are allowed to use what is on you during this fight, if you're going to ask. Soul, you are as well, but I'd use your scythe if I were you." Stein said. If Stein commented, it must have been because he thought Soul was going to lose, as he gave no advice to Maka.

"Are you both ready?" Kid said, watching with interest.

"Gong yi tenpai, Kid-kun." Maka joked; Kid-chuckled

"What does that mean?" Soul asked

"It means begin the showdown in Chinese, Mandarin to be exact. It's an inside joke, really. Are you ready?"Soul nodded

"Alright, begin." Kid announced

Soul charged for Maka, changing his arm into a scythe blade. Maka ran straight for him as well, having her wavelength ready in her hand. Soul thought she was going to try to dodge and strike him in the chest, where he would be wide open for it if she dodged. He had himself ready to conjure up another blade that would come from his back, protecting him from any incoming attack.

He swung out and summoned up two scythes that crossed over his chest, protecting himself. But she didn't dodge down like he thought she would. Instead, Maka jumped up, landing on his scythe arm and kicking off of it. She twirled once in the air and stuck out one of her legs as the other was tucked.

Soul got an excellent view of her white underwear...

And then the floor.

Her foot hit him in the back of his head and kicked off, knocking him forward. The scythes over his chest allowed him to not feel any heavy impact as she gently landed, still in the cat stance. Soul did a push up, pushing himself off the ground and spinning around.

Charging wouldn't do much help here, he took back the scythes from his back, and changed both his arms into scythes from the elbows down. He jumped up into the air and went for Maka. His scythes crossed and ready to hit her.

Maka was just turning around, still low to the ground, since she briefly felt his soul. She knew immediately that there was something wrong as that sixth sensed pulsed.

His soul wasn't devastatingly strong, but his emotions were. Maka felt anger in his, anger and annoyance and pain. She noticed he felt nostalgic earlier, when he first doubted her abilities, his reason being the 'staff adequateness' argument. His emotions were bitter and very deeply integrated with his soul.

So now as Soul thought he had just got her, she dodged. Pushing herself off the floor, and sliding along the floor a bit as she landed, using her hand to steady herself.

She stood as Soul quickly took out his scythes from the floorboard, turned around, and used his sword like a rapier, lunging and thrusting one scythe arm towards Maka, his other hand now changed back, supporting his arm so it wouldn't tire easily. Maka dodged the lunges, taking a simple step back or to the side.

It was just under a minute, and Maka decided to let the guy get his frustrations out. She held back and continued to dodge. Soul noticed, and called her out.

"You're holding back, I don't like it when people pity me." He said as he kept lunging at her.

"I don't pity you. Your soul..." She paused, deciding to skip what she felt "...it's no fun." Maka said it, only loud enough for Soul to hear. He paused, the scythe next to Maka's tilted head. She paused as soon as he did.

"What are you talking abou-"

"Your heart's not in the fight, you just need a stress reliever. It's not really fair to me if I win, your mind is obviously elsewhere. It's also not fair to you, if I were to win, because this is only practice. Taking advantage of the enemy's weak moment is a good tactic and all, but in this case, it would be a cheap shot. A dishonorable win." Maka practically whispered, even Soul had strained to hear.

"Hey," he said, causing Maka to look back up at him, "didn't I say not to pity me?" Her eyes widened and he continued the swing. Maka was flexible, and was able to do a back walkover, had she not been, Soul would surely have gotten her.

Soul continued, "I think it's you whose heart isn't into the fight. Frankly, it pisses me off."

Maka smiled, "Alright, then let the REAL fight begin."

Maka tuck and rolled just as Soul jumped up and landed with a diagonal slash. His scythe arm getting stuck in the floorboard. The classroom wasn't built for training. Maka then went for the kill, as Soul was still down, and she pulled out the best weapon in her arsenal.

"MAKAAAA CHOP!" She slammed a book the size of an encyclopedia on his head, Soul crumpled up on the floor with a groan, unable to get up. Everyone sweat dropped.

"Jeeze woman! We're not trying to kill each other here!"

Maka dusted off the spine of her book, "You said not to take pity on you, so I decided to use a book. Believe me now?"

Soul groaned out a "Sure, how can I say not to that rock-solid evidence."

The title of the book: "I Say Nay: A Debater's Guide to Running Neg/Con"

The time: 2 minutes, 58 seconds.

Patti squealed happily as Black*Star cursed Maka for not stalling for two more seconds, which earned a half-hearted "sorry" from Maka. All the other students were puzzled as to how she could do THAT MUCH damage with a book. Some were just in shock or sucked their teeth because Soul lost. Others, like Havar and Kilik, chuckled at Maka's weird style of fighting, but still a tad bit afraid. After all, a book was NOT a weapon, yet she could be deadly with one.

Maka sat next to Soul on the floor, with her long legs folded to her side, as not to show her underwear. She nodded at her bag so that Kid would bring it; he handed it to her and stepped back behind them, watching her intently. Kid would have pulled Maka back instantly, if there wasn't an audience, but there was, and it would be suspicious of Kid and Maka if he got her away from Soul while she was taking care of him, and when she was doing an exceptionally good job.

Soul's head was cut a tad bit from the hit, but it was bleeding quite a bit, further worrying Kid. Maka bit her lower lip, and got back to concentrating on helping Soul. She knew it would be wrong to drink his blood, blood-drinking was sacred, and to do so needlessly was sickening to her. She didn't see humans as walking happy meals, she saw them as equals, and maybe even friends.

Kid didn't care about that though; he was still worried. Maka may not have been all for the idea of drinking blood from humans, but the fact remained that she was a vampire. It was her nature to drink was still worried that she would start to fly off the handle, even with all her discipline, mainly because Maka hadn't been around humans this close before for such long amounts of time, and usually kept to herself. If Maka started to show any signs of lusting for blood however, Kid would act as if Soul was loosing consciousness, pull Maka away, and call Nygus.

He and Maka both knew that if that happened, students would be talking, and perhaps she would have to leave the academy. Both weren't going to let that happen; times were hard enough for her when she was solo. She was too scared of what would happen to feel blood lust, and he cared too much about her to let her starve.

Maka willed herself not to even think of the blood as blood, but rather some gross-tasting watery ketchup, or tomato juice; both of which she hated.

Maka pulled out some sort of pouch that had a blueish gel like thing. She also pulled out a handkerchief and a Gatorade bottle. There was a coin-like button in the pouch. Maka clicked it and the blue gel went from translucent to opaque, and cooled rapidly. She took the handkerchief and wrapped it around the cool pack.

"Hey Soul, listen, you don't want to get up quickly, I'd wait a minute or two. Also, no sudden movements, relax. Head trauma by cause of Maka-Chop is how I deal with papa from time to time, so you can trust that I know about how to take care of them. " Maka's voice was even and soothing, much like she was trying to comfort a little kid.

"I'm gonna put the cool pack on there now, okay? It'll reduce swelling, and you'll feel much better." Maka scooted closer and put Soul's head on her lap, to which Soul's face heated up a bit. He let out a small hiss as Maka gently placed the cool pack on his head.

Maka then took out a small tissue, and dabbed Soul's head. The blood stopped flowing and coagulated and she applied slight pressure to it. She then took out a tube of Neosporin to go, dabbed some on her index finger, and applied in to the cut on his forehead that continued into his scalp.

Soul let out an "Ow," more in response to Maka's touch than the sting. He was surprised she took the initiative to treat him. Anyone else would have bragged about beating a Spartoi, or demanded to be a part of the group. She didn't seem to be 'helping' him so she could spend more time with him, she actually fixed up his small blunt-force-trauma-induced cuts.

'_Who the hell is this girl?' _Soul thought. He felt like there as something different about her; something he couldn't quite place. He didn't mean her fighting skill, already of that of a high-ranking Spartoi, not her odd knowledge and skill with many weapons (and books), but something hidden deep within her. Within those emerald eyes of her was determination, but there was something else, some sort of inner fire behind her icy eyes.

There was also the soul comment; was she able to read his Soul? If so, what did she see? Soul thought he buried everything deep inside, behind a mask of thought it was so deep buried within the recesses of his Soul that no one would ever know. It was something only he knew; something that he wanted to stay that way, but how could she see it. maybe that wasn't it. Maybe she just noticed his look as he was thinking, or maybe she just did notice he was off focus...

_'No. She mentioned my soul. Maybe she just sensed that I was sad, angry, annoyed? what was it?'_ Soul clenched his jaw, frustrated, and deep in thought.

"Hey, you okay? I'm not pressing too hard, am I? Does it hurt?" Maka snapped him out of his thoughts, leaning her head over so emerald met crimson.

"No. Just thinking, I owe you an apology. You're actually a good fighter." He hoped she would buy it.

"Liar. You're too proud for it and we settled the score with the fight. Plus you were out of it, so much so that if you hadn't clenched your jaws I would have thought you passed out with your eyes open. It's okay, you don't have to tell me what you were thinking." Maka lifted her head back up to Kid.

"Hey could you read me the nutritional facts on the Gatorade. Particularly ingredients and vitamins or minerals present." Kid wondered what that was for, but started to read. He continued down the list, Maka nodding as he listed the information.

"Okay, thanks Kid. Could you please ask Nygus for a few things? First is a B-complex, preferably a sub-lingual liquid supplement. If she doesn't have a b-complex just look for thiamine, riboflavin, pyrodoxine, and cobalamin. Also known as Bs 1, 2, 6, and 12. Next I'll need calcium with vitamin D, some vitamin C, and magnesium. Tell her what happened if she asks what for, he got one that was just a little bit too hard, so I want to make sure he's okay." Maka sounded genuinely worried, Stein and Kid just shook their heads in disbelief.

"What?" Maka asked worriedly

Kid gave a short laugh. "It's funny how you go from killer-book-girl to his personal nurse just like that. No one else is really worried much, but then again you're already taking care of him. But seriously Maka, you're nephilim, you know that? Don't worry, I'll get them."

As Kid left the classroom, Stein decided to give his input, "I have to concur with Kid. You're just like you were when you were little."

Soul was confused as to what Kid meant earlier, "What's nephilim?"

Maka answered almost immediately, "Nephilim; creatures in mythology thought to be the offspring of angels and demons. However, sometimes this is thought to be the origins of the fae, or fairies, not as nice as they are in children's shows. They are thought to be beautiful like angels, but vicious, cruel, and cunning like demons. Some instances in stories include captivating their victims, making them dance to death, or eat something while in their realm, forever being trapped in the world of the fae. If one agrees that the fae are offspring of demons and angels, then the thought of nephilim being part demon is replaced by them being part human, still capable of malice and sin, but not damned until after judgement is passed after death, if they are subjected to perdition. Nephilim are also thought to be demon fighters in many myths, whether part demon or part human. Sometimes they are thought to have made a pact with angels, and drank angel blood which was passed down, and are not angel-born. What Kid meant, however, is the earlier explanation in which nephilim are part demon, to highlight my difference in personality. Earlier I was viciously hitting you with a book, and now I'm being your personal nurse, as Kid put it."

_Wow, she's a walking encyclopedia._ Soul thought, but all he said was "Oh. Hmm, interesting."

"Hey it's been a bit, you can try getting up now. You shouldn't feel dizzy or anything." Maka commented, and grabbed the Gatorade. Soul tried sitting up, and discovered that Maka knew what she was talking about. He felt much better, and not half-dead like before.

"Also, you need electrolytes, they hep the nervous system, and you'll need it after some blunt force trauma." She handed Soul the Gatorade, and he took a sip as Kid walked in with the things Maka asked for.

"Thanks, Kid." Maka took the bottles and read them over, making sure they were correct.

"Take one of these, the calcium and vitamin D pills, now. Two of these doses of B-complex, one now and one when you go to sleep. Hold it under your tongue for thirty seconds before swallowing. One-half of this vitamin C pill, because you'll probably meet your needs by the end of today, and then one magnesium pill, it doesn't matter what time of day for that one, just make sure it's one every 24 hours, give or take a couple. Do this for a week and you should be fine, maybe even better." Maka's tone of voice was still sweet and soothing. Soul almost didn't want to leave her side. Her smile warmed him, and she was talking to Soul like a person. Not some random hot guy.

Kid chuckled, "Alright nurse Maka, I think Soul's fine now. Besides, you'll be seeing him a lot, he gets scratched up almost every week."

Soul blinked, "Whatd'ya mean by that Kid?"

"Oh, I'm the new nurses' assistant. The number of students has gone up, so an extra nurse's assistant was thought to be a good idea. I qualified, and the compromise was that my tuition was paid off by working here. Money I get from missions can go towards rent, food, clothes leisure, and other stuff since tuition's basically paid." Maka chirped happily

Soul never listened to Nygus when he was told to stay in the dispensary; it made him feel useless and helpless. He liked having something to distract him, and in the dispensary, there's not much to do. Now he was thinking that he maybe wouldn't mind doing as he was told for once, or at least, not as much.

"Cool, I guess we'll be seeing each other a lot then." Soul replied

"Why so?" Maka tilted her head in a manner not unlike a cat's.

"Because," Kid cut in "Soul here is a Spartoi, and an autonomous weapon, he gets hurt more on average than other students."

"Ooh. Well then why don't you partner up with someone? It would increase your resonance potential, therefore giving you more power; it would also give you someone to watch your back, and also means one less weaponless meister." He knew Maka didn't mean anything by it, and was only trying to help, but it still disgruntled him quite a bit.

"I have my reasons. And you're a weaponless meister, so you're not the best person to talk to about the benefits of having a partner." It wasn't too rude, as Maka was only trying to help, but it wasn't really nice either.

Kid didn't seem to appreciate the attitude Soul was having with Maka. He glared at Soul.

"Soul, there's no reason for you to be giving Maka an atti-"

"Kid. It's fine." Maka said over her shoulder. Kid calmed down noticeably.

"Hey look, sorry if anything I said rubbed you the wrong way, but I didn't mean anything by it, K?"

Soul suddenly felt guilty. Usually, someone else would have branded him a prick, especially with the unnecessary attitude he gave Maka. She didn't huff anything under her breath, but instead started apologizing.

"Maka, you don't need to apolog-"

"**Kid. **I said it's fine." Maka growled out. It was amazing how Kid let her talk to him like that. He only ever did that with Liz and Patti. They must have been close.

"Kid's right." Soul finally spoke, "It did rub me the wrong way, but it wasn't cool to take it out on you." Soul scratched the back of his head, feeling guilty, and gave Maka a look that seemed to ask 'do you forgive me?'

Everyone's mouths, except for Maka's, dropped wide open. Soul almost never apologized, he was too 'cool' to apologize. Then again, no one had ever apologized when he gave them an attitude.

Maka gave a reassuring smile in return, "Apology accepted Soul."

Stein was impressed by how much of a difference Maka was making, but time was starting to fly by, and kishins and witches didn't wait for them to be battle-ready.

"While this has been interesting to watch, we need to get on with class. Soul take a seat, and Kid,why don't you get started with your announcement."

Kid nodded and made his way back to the center of the classroom floor, while Maka stood next to Stein and Soul sat in his seat.

"As you know, Maka has never been associated directly with the DWMA, and yet she was still able to _flawlessly_ pass the entrance exam. As such, she is eligible to be in this class, as well as a member of the Spartoi."

Soul stiffened, did she really pass the test with a perfect score? Ox pushed his glasses further up the bridge of his nose, feeling a little hurt because his record score was broken. She was really going to give Ox a run for his money. Soul heard a similar speech before, when others were given an invitation to try to join the Spartoi.

"Today was supposed to be a formal invitation to Maka, as she was able to try out for a Spartoi seat. Trying out usually meaning that she would have to engage a current member in Spartoi and show her skills to the top three seats, and the leaders to review. I was planning on having her fight Ox if she accepted, but being that Maka has already defeated the second and third seats in combat, there will be a change of plans."

Kid held out his hand to Maka and beckoned her over, she came up and stood next to him, as he turned to her.

"Maka K. Albarn, as first seat of Spartoi, and by authorization of director Stein, we Spartoi ask that you consider joining us, and would be delighted if you accept."

Many gasped, others were silently open-mouthed, Ox clenched his teeth, as did a few others. No one had ever been asked to simply join the Spartoi before, but then again, no one took on Black*Star and Soul within the same hour and won both fights so easily, except Kid, of course.

"Do you accept?"

Maka thought Kid made it sound like she was being proposed to, to which Maka cracked a smile. She turned it into a smile of sincere appreciation rather than one of mild amusement.

"Yes, thank you." Kid and Maka turned back to the class, and Kid threw an arm around Maka's shoulder, rubbing her upper arm.

"Well then, Spartoi, I ask that we all give a warm welcome to our new sister-in-arms."

Suddenly many erupted into shouts and cheers, Maka was sure gaining a fan-base quickly. Most gave the standard military calls, like three hoo-rahs, or the a-oohs, what most at the DWMA called howls. Some went for the classics wolf whistles and such, especially the guys, like Hiro and Kilik. At first Spartoi made the noise, but others from the Crescent Moon class joined in, after all, a new Spartoi was something to be celebrated by all.

Maka smiled back warmly, she finally belonged somewhere.

Kid pulled her in a but more, giving her a side hug with his arm. Maka wrapped her arms around his slender and toned torso. Kid the whispered in her ear, "see you'll be fine. Congratulations, Maka Kurami Albarn, you are now Spartoi."

* * *

Woah, over 12k words, well it's 5:30 am, if I have any mistakes, please PM me so I can fix them. I really wanted to get another chapter posted this weekend for you guys, and this was already long enough as it is. I noticed the first chapters are usually slower for me because they are relationship builders, and the the rest of the story I'm molding my characters into their final product. I was hoping to get at least through Maka's first day of school, but then realized I couldn't, especially when still introducing character and building relationships. BTW Spartoi is spelled correctly. Any questions? PM me. PLEASE REVIEW OR I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO! I'LL BE MORE USELESS THAN KID DURING A CONNIPTION FIT! PLEASE!


	3. Chapter 3: First Day pt 2

Sadly enough, however much it may pain me to say this, I do not own Soul Eater nor any other media mentioned.

ENJOY!

* * *

"Alright, we're having a Socratic seminar. Topic: The advantages and disadvantages of autonomy and partnering up within battle, the Shibusen system, and class." Stein announced. He then turned to Maka.

"Just sit wherever for now, I'll find a seat for you when it won't further interrupt class." Maka nodded, and Kid overheard, so he pulled Maka by the arm, not roughly though, and said: "Why don't you sit next to me? I can get you up to speed if need be."

Of course, Maka agreed, and Patti overheard.

"MAKAAA! Sit next to me too! I want you to help with my giraffe poster! It'll be really fuuun." Patti sang. For a second there, Kid thought Maka was going to decline, perhaps nicely. He knew Maka wasn't mean when it wasn't necessary, but when vampires get agitated, they turn into a whole different person. Kid was about to speak, when suddenly Maka's voice cut him off.

"Okay, Patti. Sure." She gave a sweet smile, much to Kid's surprise. Maka was raised to be very mature for her age, so he figured she would act above such childish things, as even Kid himself was guilty of doing occasionally. He wasn't really mean, but he didn't necessarily act all too sweet either. Of course, he would then feel guilty about it afterwards, but it still couldn't undo what he said when he said it.

She sat down next to Patti and Kid, two seats to the right of Soul. Patti was coloring a paper separated into _perfectly symmetrical eighths_, each with a different outline of a giraffe. Maka looked at Patti's poster, then at Kid, and back at the poster. It seemed to her like meisters and weapons' tendencies or personalities did rub off on each other. She grabbed the tan crayon, seeing as how Patti destroyed yellow, and began to help her with the 'pop art giraffe' poster.

First period passed fairly quickly after that. Maka, who usually furiously take notes in her studies knew everything that was mentioned, and therefore was whispering to Kid in foreign languages as she absently colored a rectangular section of the poster with Patti. Second period then came along, to which the same lesson as first period was continued.

Maka was bored out of her mind, she was taught the same lesson before. She put her head in her palm and sighed, a little too loudly, and gave a guilty look. Stein, irked a bit, pushed his glasses further up the bridge of his nose. He then proceeded to throw a scalpel in Maka's direction.

RIGHT. AT. HER. FACE.

And everyone gasped as Maka caught the scalpel, and expertly twirled it between her fingers, like a miniature baton.

She then threw the scalpel at his desk, making it land dead center on the bull's eye Black*star had placed on some kid's chair that Stein had confiscated after one of the darts he threw missed and landed right between the poor guy's spread fingers.

Maka then proceeded to complain to Stein in _French_, which just so happened to be a turn on to most guys in the room, that Maka could speak French.

(I take French 2, so I know this is correct, if not a little stiff sounding in informal conversation. I decided I'm gonna be lazy and not change the words so that there are accents.)

"Professeur Stein, cette classe m'ennuie a mourir. J'ai déja connu ce information, mais, je ne sais pas ou est mes classes. Donc, je ne peux pas aller a ma classe prochain."

(Translation: Professor Stein, this class bores me to death. I already know this information, but I don't know where my classes are. So, I can't go to my next class.)

Stein was slightly irked that she had interrupted class again, but he knew she was restless when she got bored, and it would only continue if he didn't do something. He recalled teaching her when she was smaller, he went over this topic with her and every time he reviewed it, she got bored and recited all she memorized on the topic, ultimately cutting him off and condensing the lesson into no more than ten minutes.

He turned the screw in his head, in thought as to what he should do.

"Okay then, I understand that I've taught you quite substantially when you were younger, but your next three classes are here, so there's not much I can do. How about a pop quiz, just for you, then, students can take notes while you recite the entire lesson." He grinned evilly, knowing Maka would probably hate the idea of being in the spotlight so much that she would back off and let him teach.

What he forgot, however, is Maka loved a challenge, and never backed down from one either. She would get way out of her comfort zone to wipe that smug look off his face, especially if it would ultimately annoy him. It was fun to irritate her Godfather, even her mother got quite the kick out of it.

Maka stood up, green eyes fiery with determination. "Fine then, **ask away**."

Stein chuckled, knowing that he was in for it the second he challenged her. "Fine then, brief us all on the topic of how resonance works."

Maka gave an unamused laugh. She then started busting out facts from memory looking Stein straight in the eyes the entire time.

"Resonance is the ability to further increase output power for your attacks or defense as compared to the power you originally input. All resonance's basic processes are the same. Someone's soul essence, also known as a wavelength, is compressed, forming the energy that is going to be used in the attack." She started.

"So _basic_, Maka. Perhaps I should give you _extra lessons_." Stein taunted. Maka gave him a death glare, and kept spitting out facts.

"One would think that this wears out the soul, as the soul wavelength is much like taking a part of that person and directing it into an attack or some sort of defensive maneuver or ability, but in all actuality, it _doesn't_. A soul's wavelength is like someone's personality. Amplifying one aspect of your personality in theatrics doesn't take away from your personality, but the process of amplifying it is what takes its toll on the body. Resonance works the same way, when you resonate, you're really not taking away anything except your soul's personality, or wavelength. It's the process of condensing and directing the now compressed wavelength that takes its toll on the body."

"Not impressed." Stein said, and sighed, as if bored.

Maka clenched her jaw and continued to talk. "That's why we need to keep in shape, it helps us fight as well as control the energy. It also gives most of us some sense of discipline, which is pretty essential here. It's what keeps us from becoming the same as those kishin, discipline."

"Off topic." Stein commented

Maka was getting a little peeved now at Stein's comments, which she knew is what he wanted. He wanted her to be pushed to the edge for some reason, perhaps the same reason she pissed him off, because it was fun.

"**No. It's not.**" She growled, "We resonate to fight kishin, to resonate, we need to be fit, being physically and mentally sound are the basic principals of a _sound soul_, which are _required_ for a _sound_ soul resonance, **but** I'll get back on that in a minute."

"Hmm, perhaps you are still as good as you used to be." Oh, how Stein loved pushing his goddaughter's buttons.

"Oh, believe me, _Uncle_, I'm not as good.** I'm** **better**."Maka said through clenched teeth.

"Anyways, a single-person resonance and a partnered resonance are different in many areas. In a typical partnership, Black*Star and Tsubaki for example, there are two catalysts for resonance. Either one of them can direct their soul wavelength, but it's typically the meister who does so for convenience purposes, nothing more. They must first, however, link their wavelengths to each other and sync them, meeting their partner halfway so to speak. This doesn't mean that one needs to be submissive to the other or listen to the other entirely, it simply means that they must accept each other, flaws and must be willing to put their lives into each other's hands. Meister-weapon pairs become much like one identity in a sense, since their wavelengths are meeting each other halfway. The energy moves from meister to weapon, where the weapon then adds more compressed energy from their end, and back again. The duo repeat this process until a greater energy output is created. Stronger techniques can thus be activated, such as mama's witch hunter. While the advantage of a faster resonance is a good one, there is the advantage of a more reliable resonance with in an autonomous resonance." Stein was going to say something, but Maka cut him off.

"I used Black*Star and Tsubaki as an example for this reason; when I fought them, I thought perhaps their bond was still weak enough to break or give way, if only for the amount of time I needed. I miscalculated though, after reading their souls after the fight, I found out that her extreme amounts of patience and nurturing disposition balances perfectly with his compulsive and rambunctious one, which probably causes him to rely on Tsubaki a lot for care. **Not** that it's a bad thing, it therefore strengthens the bond between the two whenever one needs to take care of the other. Tsubaki may seem like she's not vocal enough at first, but that's because if someone other than Black*Star is pissing her off, he's probably beating them to a bloody pulp. So their bond was too strong for me to toy with, if only for a moment, with such a weak psychological attack."

Black*Star and Tsubaki both blushed a little as their classmate's heads to turned to them. Black*Star then spoke.

"SO WHAT'S YOUR POINT? WHY PICK ON TSUBAKI AND I?" Maka looked him dead in the eyes, silencing him with her cold stare.

"If one isn't focused on the resonance or isn't in tune with the other all the built up energy can be wasted and released awkwardly, such as a miss with long range weapons. Sometimes the sync can be affected by the smallest of things, such as a previous argument. If the problem between the two is large enough, however, an out-of-sync pair may get severely injured, including problems such as soul rejection, one partner accidentally attacking the other with their wavelength, or perhaps the bond can break to the point where the pair can never resonate. **Never again.**" The class was deathly silent, with a heavy feeling in the air. Most thought of the horror that must have happened for something that bad to happen. Maka didn't need to, she knew from firsthand experience. Maka spaced out for a moment, as if in nostalgia, and then regained her composure.

Tsubaki went wide mouthed in shock, and was a tad bit miffed that she tried to break their bond and would risk those consequences for her fellow classmates.

Maka could sense Tsubaki's anger, and added in calmly, "Don't worry, what I said wouldn't really break you guys _permanently_, you would still be perfectly fine to resonate, perhaps you wouldn't be all too happy if forced into it, but you could easily work it out the next day. _Jeeze_, I'm not _that_ heartless, I caught some sense of your souls before I went all brain-ninja on you guys."

Tsubaki forgave her, after considering that it was a failed attempt anyways. Black*Star, being her partner for many years now, sensed this, and subsequently forgave Maka as well.

Maka then turned to Stein again, with that same look of determination on her face.

"Because an autonomous weapon or meister doesn't need to rely on matching with someone else, their self-resonance is more reliable, but very limited, because the body wears out faster, being that there is no break from resonating. It's almost like juggling, you toss one bowling pin in the air, then two more, each time one comes around you increase the speed of the juggling, tossing them even higher so you maintain the rythym. however, as you get faster and toss higher, it becomes harder to control, and catching the bowling pins is harder than tossing a ball back and forth, which is like a partnered resonance. In partnered resonances, one partner can hold the energy for quite some time before the other catches it, thus having some kind of break. Even if the juggler wants to stop it for a bit and catch a breath, there is the need to catch three pins, instead of just one ball. Once the juggler catches all three compacted wavelengths, they can compress them together even more to make an attack just as great as a partnered resonance, but that's with skilled people, like you, Professor Stein. Otherwise, the three pins are still about half to three-fourths as strong as a partnered resonance, because it comes from only one soul instead of two, but that's a tactic used by those who still want to gather energy almost as fast, if not just as or faster than, a weapon-meister pair. Otherwise, there could be one pin, but it would be harder to catch, and toss back up, as if the pin gets heavier. However, the advantage to that is that the body focuses energy into one area, instead of three compacting into one. It's harder to compact three decently sized amounts of compressed soul wavelength than adding on to one large amount of compressed wavelength, but it's also slower with only one compacted wavelength. For the pair playing catch, it's much like they start out with a softball, then a volleyball, then a basketball, and then a bowling ball, which gets harder to catch and throw so they then strike. No pun intended. That's really the best comprehensible way I can describe it, without getting too complicated. Should I get into the basics of team resonance as well, or have we not covered it yet?" Most students, except for Kid, Ox, Liz and Patti, and a couple of other Spartoi, all looked at her like she was crazy. They had no clue that such a thing as team resonance even existed. Kid chuckled.

Stein stared at Maka, somewhat impressed. He didn't think that Maka wanted much to do with Shibusen, let alone the world that her mother left behind, and the same one that her father still existed in. He also didn't recall mentioning anything about team resonance, and the analogy was actually near perfect, something that Stein would have come up with in his earlier years. Then again, Maka was a survivor, and thrived where others once told her she couldn't, she had an iron will, and the stubbornness of a bull, or in this case, the stubbornness of her mother, Kami. Kami may not have been the sweetest lady, but she introduced him to Marie. Sweet, lovely Marie, who he cherished more than anything else, even though he wasn't fully capable of showing it.

By the time Kid finished his small chuckle, the bell rang, signaling that there were ten minutes of chill time to get whatever was needed, go freshen up, or just hang about before the next class.

* * *

Stein's lesson plans for third period were once again obliterated by Maka in a mere 5 minutes, leaving another 45 minutes for other to do nothing. For that, everyone was grateful. Patti hugged Maka in relief, (she was going to dissect Stein if there was another dissection, especially being that it was supposed to be a pygmy giraffe) while Liz high-fived her. Black*Star gave a loud "HYAHOO!" Tsubaki thanked "Maka-chan" sweetly, to which Maka replied that it was no problem.

Kid chuckled to himself, he was glad Maka fit in so well. Even Patti took a liking to her quicker than usual, and Patti was a good judge of character, but didn't take to others as quickly as she did with Maka. He was also glad that Maka got along well with Patti, not many could handle her easily. At first, Patti would seem childish and annoying in that aspect, always so cheery, but when she snapped, she flew off the deep end. It was Patti who made Liz and her sister the infamous Thompson Sisters; the Demons Sisters of Brooklyn. That being known, Kid knew that Patti could get shit-yourself scary when she didn't like someone. He smiled warmly for a moment, just a moment, but a moment was all Black*Star needed to catch it.

Soul was impressed by how Maka managed to review the lesson with her mental encyclopedia. Usually the brainy ones pissed him off to no end, with their cocky superior looks at knowing stuff that everyone else was going to learn anyways. He especially hated how they always pushed up their glasses and bragged about being the best, and the 'pillars', OH THE PILLARS! What kind of fucking hairstyle was that?

Oh yeah, it wasn't that Soul hated ALL brainy kids, he didn't mind Kid, it was just Ox Ford who made him want to punch brainy kids in the face.

He decided he didn't mind Maka, either. Sure, that book may have hurt like a bitch, but it was a fight. Besides, she had no weapons with her. How was she supposed to defend herse- WOAH!

Maka had her shoes off, and her legs crossed and resting on Kid's lap. He was absent-mindedly giving her a foot massage. She seemed to be enjoying it immensely, seeing as her eyes were closed, and her head was nestled in her arms, behind her head.

Patti and Liz were staring in awe from behind at her and Kid's comfort level with each other, and the fact that kid didn't seem to mind giving Maka a foot massage. They were starting to like her more and more, because if Kid went out of his way for you, you must be important. They never got a foot massage from Kid, so Maka had to be _just that good.__  
_

Soul started to wonder just how close those two were, and since Kid seemed to know her so well, why didn't anyone else? Weren't they supposed to be his best friends? He put those questions aside for later, because that's not what phased him.

Soul didn't know how he didn't notice before, but underneath the scandalously short skirt to her dress, was a holster. Inside it, however, wasn't a gun, but a set of knives, perhaps throwing knives. If she had those, then why did she choose to bash his head in? Most sane people would pick the knives, as Soul was one of the other few great fighters within the Spartoi. Maka was his first loss since he last battled Black*Star, and that was eight months ago.

"Uh, hey Maka?" Soul called out to the blonde, who was still immensely enjoying her massage. She cracked one eye open.

"Yeah? What's up?"

"Why did you use the book, when you have throwing knives?" Soul questioned her, not sure if her answer was going to harm his ego or not.

Maka felt along her right thigh until she got to the holster. "Oh! I guess I forgot they were there, since I'm so used to the weight. Oh, well. Besides, I wasn't trying to kill you, just your ego.

Soul glanced at the knives, and back at her face. You would never think someone like her carried knives on them all the time. Then again, _why would she need to?_

He understood that she was a student at Shibusen, but at least here she was safe enough to put those away. Death City was also safe, no witch or pre-kishin was stupid enough to just waltz in there and attack. It would be as stupid as having Spirit teach sex ed.

Then again, _he probably knows more on the subject than anyone else in Death City._

Soul decided to let the subject drop; her answer didn't affect him, and if she wanted to carry something for extra, albeit unnecessary, safety, then who was he to stop her?

* * *

Fourth period started, and Maka had nothing to do. Apparently, neither did anyone else, as expected from the elites of Shibusen. Stein decided to let the class relax while he redid his lesson plans, especially those for Maka, since she could cover concepts that even some Spartoi couldn't comprehend. She was a fast learner, partially because she was half-vampire, and partially because that's the kind of girl Maka is. Vampires are naturally very fast learners, as their minds tend to analyze and assess situations in speeds that only gifted humans could achieve. Maka, being half vampire, also inherited the ability to do so.

"Maka," Stein said, "did you get a tour of the school yet?"

The blonde in question looked up from the book she was reading. "No. I had plans with Kid to show me around this morning, but then Black*Star decided he wanted to fight me, and so I couldn't take a tour, why?"

Kid overheard the conversation, as he was sitting right next to Maka. When he heard Maka's answer, he knew that Stein would let her be shown around, _and because we had earlier plans-_

"Alright. Soul, show Maka around." Kid's jaw dropped, _WTF Stein? Really, SOUL? He's lazy and probably wouldn't show her around the school! Bloody Hell, he'd probably ditch her, the ignoramus, coccydynia, ninnyhammer, that feist, that _cacafuego!

Kid flew a mental string of insults towards Soul. It wasn't Soul's fault, in fact, they were like brothers, albeit dysfunctional ones, but Kid had to admit, he was a little protective of Maka. There were oh so many things that could have went wrong, so it would be best that she would be with someone who already knew her secret. If Soul pushed Maka too far, she could probably loose her temper, and that, that would be REALLY bad.

And maybe he was just a little jealous.

Soul opened one eye, as he was leaning back in his seat with his arms behind his head. He was so comfortable, he didn't want to get up and show her around, even if she was cute. Besides, he had other cute girls to swoon over him, and if he ran into one of his fan club, ugh, that would not be cool... at all.

"Why do I have to, didn't you hear her? She said Kid was scheduled to show her around." Soul complained, even though it wasn't because of her really, he was just glad he was resting for once.

"Yes, I do believe my name was mentioned." To Soul's surprise, Kid was helping him be lazy; or perhaps helping himself to alone time with princess flat-chest.

"I heard her." Stein commented "I would let her go with Kid, but seeing as Kid would probably make sure every detail in the school is symmetrical, it would take her lifetime until that tour would be over."

Maka smiled and closed her eyes, shaking her head, as if to say 'Stein, really?'

"And you happen to know your way around, seeing as you skipped training yesterday. Be happy I'm letting you off easy, or perhaps you'd like extra lessons?" Stein threatened, smiling evilly.

Suddenly, the idea of walking Maka around the school seemed really appealing to Soul, or so it seemed. He stood up.

"Alright, come on." Soul said, moving his head to signal Maka to follow him.

Maka got up and followed Soul, they walked out of the classroom.

Stein called Kid up to his desk. Kid reluctantly got up, keeping his cool.

"I want you to use your shadow power to watch over them." Stein whispered "That's why I made her go with Soul, it's a test I had to reluctantly administer; Shibusen needs to make sure Maka can handle one on one situations with other people alone. Lord Death understands Maka is only part vampire, but she still thirsts for blood nonetheless."Stein whispered, just barely loud enough for Kid to hear.

Kid's face became concerned, "But honorable father had accepted Maka into the school already, why would he test her now? It would make no sense now; when if she were to fail the test and be let go it would be noticeable."

Stein's expression was more sullen, "It wasn't your father's decision, it was Dracula's. Lord Death of course agreed so as to respect the desicion of the other council members. You know they are worried about Shibusen, especially since **he's** of your father's own creation, in some sense. Shibusen's been on thin ice ever since. And as we both know, Maka's hybrid genes aren't the only thing that make her different. If that were the case, when she changed into a vampire, she would in fact probably be more bloodthirsty than most vampires. It's her grigori soul. Dracula knows this, and as a noble blood, Maka would make one of the best people to serve the royal lineage, be it as a guard, nurse, or perhaps even something else."

Kid became more worried at Stein's suggesting tone, "What do you mean by something else?"

"What I mean is..." Stein paused, he didn't know how to tell Kid, nor how to deal with it himself. Maka was a bright angel bound to a world in the dark. Bound by blood.

"What I mean is," Stein restated, his voice almost giving way, "they know of Maka's abilities, and her potential. She is very well strong enough to control other nobles, if need be. Her grigori soul also has a calming effect, especially on the demonic tendencies of vampires, for example, blood lust. Point is, Dracula's not giving her up easily, that's why she is a dual-citizen, like Kami. They want her, Maka, to become a royal."

Kid's eyes widened in fury; he pounded his fists into Stein's desk, making the silver-haired man jump in his seat.

"**WHAT?!**" Kid's voice bellowed; it was deeper than usual; scaring everyone, especially Liz and Patti; they never saw him act like that. His fists broke some of the sturdy oak that composed Stein's desk' leaving splinters in Kid's hands, but they went unnoticed by him as he kept his fists clenched.

Kid's outburst left everyone staring at the front desk, Kid felt their eyes on them, so he calmed himself and stared Stein straight in the eyes.

"There's one thing you should know," Stein continued, knowing that no one else would understand if they continued to listen, "she would need to be given some of the source to the infliction."

"I know what needs to happen Stein, and so does she. She told me once, but I didn't entirely get why, until now." Kid suddenly had a protective feeling over Maka again, and had eyes set to kill.

They continued to stare at each other for a moment, neither wanting to think about the possibility of Maka failing her test. Stein noticed that no one was watching them anymore, except for Liz, Patti, Black*Star and Tsubaki. All were too far away to hear anything being said between the two, and Kid blocked the view of Stein's lips. All just looked at their shinigami friend, worried.

"The test had to be administered with someone who didn't know her secret but someone she knew. She may have just met Soul, but she knows he's no harm, nor does he know her secret. I need you to spy on them, just make sure nothing happens. If anything does go down, get Maka out of there. Got it?" Stein whispered

Kid only nodded back in affirmation.

"Good." Stein said,"BUT," he said in a dangerously low whisper, "if **anything** happens to Maka to threaten her safety in _any_ way _whatsoever_, I. will. dissect. you." Stein's face went deadly scary, enough to make Kid a bit afraid of his sensei.

Kid nodded; Stein really didn't need to threaten him, because if anything happened to Maka, he swore he would find a fate worse than death to whoever caused her suffering.

Kid nodded his head a Stein, as if to say 'I'm going now' and left out the door without another word. He went to the nearest men's restroom down the hall, and activated his shinigami powers. Kid willed the shadows to move as they swirled into tendrils against the full wall mirror that was in the open area for freshening up.

Kid stepped in the shadows, allowing him to move to anywhere there were shadows or darkness...

or to watch over a certain vampire-human hybrid.

Kid in a sense became a shadow himself, but his shadow didn't appear, so it was hard to tell when he was near. It was a technique anyone with an affinity to the darkness could use, namely all reapers, and high up vampires. The difference between the two, however, were that he and his father were the only Grims, and only a Grim could manipulate shadows into something more substantial, like an extra pair of arms. Not many knew this though, because it wasn't really necessary in daily life. Kid and Lord Death used it sparingly. Vampires, however, could only use shadows to hide and travel, simple things as such.

_Of course, just like with every rule, there was an exception._

_Maka was a noble vampire, so like all nobles and royals, she had an affinity that she was born with, a power she could control. Most affinities were simple, such as being able to control one of the elements, or being able to predict the future. Some were able to communicate with nature, or manipulate people to the point of making them believe that they are seeing something they weren't._

_Souls usually determined the affinity. Since the soul of any being affected its form, it also affected the affinity a vampire was born with. For example, witches' souls were used to make the first weapons, as they had transformative abilities. Thus, the people they were fused with also gained transformative abilities. Of course, like in the Nakatsukasa clan, sometimes a multitude of abilities were bestowed unto an individual. _

_Maka had a similar situation._

_Maka, being part vampire, was already able to control the shadows a bit, and her original affinity should have been darkness. _

_Somehow, however, her grigori soul didn't change her affinity, but rather gave her another affinity. Maka's soul was blessed by the angels, and therefore belonged to the light. She should have changed completely, but she didn't. Maka may have seemed like she belonged to the light more than the darkness, but her affinity wasn't affected, but rather enhanced._

_Maka was able to control both the light and dark, dubbing her many names among the supernatural world. Some being the angel of darkness, the fallen angel, the yin-yang angel, and Kid's personal favorite, the angel of death. _

_When Kid asked her how she earned all those names, she told him it was because she was a noble, so it was her duty to serve the royals, and since she fed on kishin blood only, she accepted a guardian's position. They kept other vampires in line, and enemies, especially kishin, at bay._

_ It also meant protecting the royal bloods with your life._

_ Kami resisted at first, but understood that she couldn't do anything about it. They gave Maka until the age of 10, and then she would start her position, as was the duty of a noble._

_She excelled at her job; and did so quickly. The almost frightening part, however, was that since Maka was capable of aging, she grew into vampirism. _

_While most vampires gained their affinity's powers at the start, Maka had to wait until she was four to discover her affinity. Most had to train intensely, pushing themselves to new limits, to unlock and awaken their full abilities. Of course, royals were an exception, they had to just master their skills in battle, already awakened. She was somewhere in between, she didn't have to train, but was not awakened... yet. _

_Maka was 16, and soon enough she would awaken to her affinity fully, when she turned 17._

Kid shook the thoughts away, continuing his way to look for Maka and Soul. The shadow land was different, a world whose color was drained and replaced with varying shades of grey.

The world looked drained of all vivacity, and since no one was out, much like a still from a boring black and white movie.

Kid's form existed in the shadows, and he looked much like himself, only people actually in the shadow lands kept their color, those on the outside, however, were just as bland as the world around them.

He found two figures rounding a corner, and stalked after them, knowing that neither would be able to see him as long as he kept to the shadow land.

* * *

~Maka/Soul~ (from the moment they walked out)

Maka followed Soul quickly as they walked out the door. She had no problem keeping up with him, but didn't feel like being right next to him, just so that she wouldn't have to swerve one way if he turned another.

Soul broke the silence after a couple of seconds. "So this hall's mainly tactics,and research and stuff, where the four-of-a-kind classes are held. That's what we call the four back to back classes are held. Around the corner and to the right are the library, independent study hall, and labs and specialized rooms. There's an art room, music room, home EC., stuff like that. Not many really take those classes though."

Soul stopped at the four way intersection quickly, looking back at Maka, and turned around. She stopped as soon as she noticed him looking at her. Soul turned his head and looked down the hall to his right.

"To your left are more academic and unnecessary-for-fighting-kishins classes, but it's required that we at least learn up to Algebra 2, Biology 1 or an equivalent science, English 4, at least two years of a foreign language, some social studies, and that's about it. It's required before anyone can work as a death scythe or be promoted to 3-star meister. Not cool, but I guess as long as we're not stupid." Soul shrugged

Maka hummed in agreement, and Soul turned and continued down the hall. Maka followed him, still a couple paces behind.

"Even further down this hall is towards the front, where the main stairs curve on either side of the end of this hallway. The halls will once again split to the left and right, a continuation of the other halls from the previous intersection. Then further down this hall is the large entry room, where most students lounge around before class, considering it's basically a lobby, and the cafe is amazing."

"Hope so." She said absently. Maka was paying attention, she could recite everything he said, but at the same time she wasn't. Her mind was wandering to a feeling of being watched. She felt as if there was a pull to the darkness, she felt something beckon her, and it was dark, powerful, and most of all, somewhat seductive. Maka almost felt like writhing from the dark pleasure going into her mind. She was fully aware of Soul's presence and instead stretched up, going en point before lowering herself. She pushed the thoughts away as she opened her eyes and found Soul staring at her.

"What?" She asked him.

"I asked if you if you like coffee, but when I turned around, you seemed to be more relaxed. Then you stretched, completely avoiding my question." Soul explained, giving Maka a look of concern. She was acting kind of weird, like a cat on catnip. Thing was, she couldn't possibly be high or anything, she was with him the whole time, and she would smell funny.

"Oh. I'm kind of tired and the smell of coffee was amazing, oh and yes, I love coffee." It was true, it was one of the few things that her vampyric system could handle. Maka had cravings from time to time, and when her vampire self started shifting her body more to the transformation, she sometimes couldn't eat anything, or even think of human food without wanting to throw up.

"Oh... okay" Soul said, not really sure whether or not to believe her story. He turned around and moved a couple of feet.

"Hey Soul?" Maka called. Soul stopped where he was.

"Yeah?" Soul replied, turning back around, his crimson orbs meeting forest green.

"Do you think we could just walk around in silence? I can learn where to go by reading the signs, and while your explanations help and all, I know you didn't want to do it in the first place, so I don't want you to feel obli-"

"I don't feel obligated," Soul replied, cutting her off. "In fact I don't really mind, I did before because I was cranky from being tired, besides, you're different, so I'm cool with showing you around. By the way, I know your reason for wanting silence isn't for my sake, but I'm cool with it, whatever floats your boat."

"Thanks Soul." Maka said gratefully, smiling at him.

* * *

He found Soul and Maka walking in silence. Nothing but the sound of Maka's clacking heels and Soul's sneakers hitting the ground. For a moment, Kid thought that the two would hear his shoes behind them, but remembered that physics and simple laws of science did not apply here.

The sound from the outside world could be heard, but more like a faint ethereal sound than from someone in the same room as you, and the shadow lands did not let any sound escape.

Lastly, the way the shadow lands worked was different, whereas in the corporeal world you had to actually move to get somewhere, simple thought could help you to move around. Shadows would envelop you for a moment and you would appear where you wanted to be. It was really a handy skill, especially when he was thinking about Maka all this time.

Kid kind of wished that they were speaking, the silence seemed comfortable between them, but it was uncomfortable for Kid, as it was deafening. He was glad Soul wasn't being a jerk to her, or hitting on her or anything, but he was also annoyed that he wasn't doing anything to help her out.

He followed Soul and Maka down the hallway that led to double doors that led outside.

On the right of the building, there was an asphalt area, marked with lines for track. It was also apparently the area where obstacle courses that involved hurdles and such were set up.

To the right of it sat a large lake, whose water moved in to a filter and then an equally large pool. Maka could tell it was hand made, as the lake was beautiful, and the forest that surrounded the school was on the opposite side, making a lovely vista.

Maka and Soul strolled alongside the school and to the back of the school building, where the two-story cafeteria was. Maka could tell, being that the walls on both the first and second floor were almost completely glass. After about three feet of walling around the sides and back, glass windows went up to a foot before the ceiling. And the ceiling was high up, as was the ceiling in the rest of the school. This allowed everyone too see the expanse of very compacted dirt, used for outdoors training, some more obstacle courses, and other various activities.

Soul pointed out to Maka that it was much like a fairgrounds, but for almost every ethical purpose one could think of. Maka could once again see the forest surrounding the school meeting the expanse of dirt. That's when she felt it again.

The feeling that someone was watching them.

Where? Maka had no clue, but it annoyed her to no end, and she was feeling almost threatened now. The darkness may have called to her, but twice within a couple of minutes was becoming ominous. She didn't like the feeling she was getting, nor did Kid like the tense vibes she was giving off.

* * *

Maka tensed, and suddenly the skies were getting grayer, allowing some light, but not much. Kid noticed this, but he couldn't act out now, not yet. A little bad weather may have been a small yellow flag, but no good reason to get her out of there, but Kid didn't care, he was still worried.

That's when he saw it. The only color in the lifeless world of grey he was in.

Red. He saw red.

It may have been just a blur, but it was still a color emanating from someone other than him. Kid heard a deep laughing, and suddenly it was ethereal sounding. It crossed over somewhere into the real world.

* * *

Maka was tense, and Soul noticed the change in weather. The winds started to pick up, and the clouds got darker, impairing one's view of the laughing sun. It was starting to get creepy as Maka just stood a few feet in front of him, not flinching at all as the winds picked up and skies got darker. They weren't too dark, but now Soul cold mistake the view for a winter dusk.

"Hey, Maka, want to go inside?" Soul asked cautiously. She didn't answer, but Soul thought it could have been that she didn't hear him because of the wind. Soul cautiously put a hand on Maka's shoulder, making her jump as she snapped out of her thoughts.

"God Soul! Don't scare me like that!" She yelled. As soon as it happened, the weather died down a bit. It was still stormy looking outside though.

"I said do you want to go back inside?"

"Oh, sorry. I was just thinking. I'm fine, it's just some freak weather. Do you think it's okay if we walk to the other side?" Maka asked, trying to get Soul to go with it without using her powers on him. She felt the need to keep walking around, especially when she started to recognize the energies in the air, it was familiar, but she couldn't put her finger on it.

Soul looked at her innocent green eyes and gave in, it would be like saying no to a kitten. Soul may be cruel from time to time, but never that cruel.

"Okay, but if it starts storming, you're paying dry cleaning." He smirked; Maka knew he was joking, but she wouldn't have minded anyways. After all, it wasn't going to rain as long as she was outside. She couldn't tell how she knew it, but she felt herself being protected as well as an ominous calm in the air, ready to burst into violence.

Soul led her to the other side to the school, where the dojo, fitness center, and other indoor physical classes were. Unlike the other building, it was three stories.

Most of the top floor were private rooms for those who wanted, well private training. The center floor was an armed-combat training area, with half individual rooms and the other half being group training. It was usually used for target practice and things like that. The bottom floor was split between the fitness center and group training area.

"On the other side of the building are the apartment complexes that students can choose from. These are only specifically rented to students, and the missions a student and their roommate, if they have one, can pay for it directly through mission worth, instead of waiting for pay to come in and then paying like with any other complex." Soul explained

"Yeah, I know. I decided to get one of them. I've gotten kishins on Lord Death's list before, and when he found out it was me, he didn't mind renting one to me without my actually being a student. Plus, if there's any perk to being death scythe's daughter, it's that the rent come directly out of his pay, he insisted that he pay for it anyways, being that he knows I'm still angry at him." Maka stated simply.

_Wow. She can hold a grudge. But I guess it's kinda cool she has Spirit wrapped around her little finger._ Soul thought.

"Seriously? Never seen you around." Soul was curious as to how she could go so undetected living on Shibusen property.

"Probably because she's been here for what? about a week?"

His soul's presence wasn't quite as overwhelming to Maka as with other royals, but that was because she got used to his wavelength and its crushing power, but at least she knew why it felt so familiar. He was here, and she smiled before she even saw him.

Maka and Soul turned to see a tall man with jet black hair, a tall stature, and lean but muscular build, and broad shoulders, and very dark brown eyes. He stared Soul directly in the eyes, the stranger's so dark that Soul could swear they were black.

Kid watched from the shadows, he wasn't ready to go in yet, but at least he knew who was with him in the shadows only a few moments before. The red from his eyes, however, was gone. It baffled him to no end, but now he knew who the other sent to watch over Maka was. But why? WHY HIM?

Why did it have to be Alucard Van Hellsing?

He wore black straight leg jeans which went into his black combat boots, and a chain hung off one side of his hips. He had a belt on, but his jeans were still low enough to show the beginning of the V shape on his toned waist every time the wind picked up. He also had on a black trench coat, long enough to stop just above his feet, giving him an an ominous look. he had a red button up dress shirt underneath, with the first three and last two buttons undone, showing some skin in an alluring way. He had jet black shoulder length hair, which had hints of blue, like a raven's feather. His face had a light stubble that seemed to angle his face. He seemed no older than twenty, just a couple of years older than the two Shibusen students.

He was smirking, not particularly directly at Soul, but more like how Soul was with Maka. It was like he knew what Soul thought about Maka, and was ready to whisk her away on a moment's notice. It was like he knew he could do it too, like Maka wouldn't think twice about it. Like he was an insignificant child compared to him. It pissed Soul off to no end.

Soul felt almost insignificant and tiny in his presence, though that wasn't nearly the case. He was only an inch or two taller, but his slightly broader shoulders and trench coat gave him a larger appearance. He almost felt threatened by his presence, and Soul felt uneasy.

"Al? What are you doing here? Oh my death!" It was Maka, and both men broke the stare to look at her. Soul, in disbelief that Maka knew him, and Al smirked, both realizing that Soul had just been moved to second fiddle in Maka's mind with the way she looked at him. It was one full of many emotions, but the dominant ones being utmost admiration and respect. She ran up to him and hugged him as he stroked her hair.

He chuckled, his baritone voice vibrating through his chest. "Kami sent me to check on you, and Lord Death understands the situation, so I was allowed to look around for you. I figured you'd be somewhere where you could train, you always were the type to prefer playing with shiny new weapons than anything else." He stated as they pulled apart slightly, his arm still around her waist. Funny part was that his eyes flashed towards Soul during the shiny new weapons part. Maka didn't catch it though.

"Mama sent you?!" Maka's eyes lit up like little white lights on a Christmas tree.

"Yeah, well, she was going to send Akira, but I figured you would be less grumpy about your mother not coming if you had something good to look at." he chuckled. Soul and Kid both grew all the more all the more agitated, unable to do anything just yet.

"Meaning you?" She said, giggling a bit.

"Who else? Anyways, I never got to say goodbye when you left anyways, so I volunteered to do the job, of course, to make sure she said yes, I told her I'll deal with all expenses on the trip, and we both know Akira wouldn't dare do that."

She laughed a bit, "Glad you did. I would probably go insane with her around. She's such a cold-hearted-"

"bitch?" he finished for her.

"**Worse.**" Maka growled.

"Oh by the way, you left this at my place, but of course I was gone so you couldn't pack it, I know how important it is to you." He smiled, pulling out a neatly folded black fabric.

"My coat! holy shit! Where in the hell did I leave it? I don't remember it being in the coat closet, I thought I lost it!" She hugged him tightly, but he didn't even flinch, just chuckle.

"My room." He said simply, and Maka didn't seem phased. Kid and Soul however, were thinking many, _many,_ things could be implied by that two-word-answer.

"Oh, I should have checked there. I'm such an idiot!" She was about to face palm herself when Alucard stopped her, catching her tiny wrist in his palm.

"No, you're not. You just forgot about it, you're very intelligent Maka, don't you forget it." She blushed a fierce red at his words, which was grating Kid and Soul both. Kid because he knew he liked Maka, and Soul because he was not only being totally ignored, but also because it was because of a guy whose presence rubbed him the wrong way.

Maka seemed like a useless puddle of girl goo at the moment, so Alucard thought it would be funny to take it one step further and piss off the little pup and reaper. He took Maka's hand, that was still in his, and elegantly kissed it. He then kissed her on the forehead, which started to annoy Maka once she caught was he was trying to do. He kissed her cheek.

'_Cut it out.' _ She sent, giving him a hard look and pulling back a bit, but not enough to escape his arm around her waist.. He kissed her other cheek. He then went for her lips. Crashing them together, claiming Maka's mouth as his for a second before she pulled away.

This drove both Soul and Kid bonkers, but Maka was the most ticked off of them all. Her face changed quicker than the weather, and she was finally about to snap.

"Maka?" He asked worriedly.

"Al, I told you to stop joking around like that. Sure it was funny at first, but now you're just being petty. By the way, Soul's just showing me around. Look, I enjoy the fact that you did what you did for me, but why do you have to be such an ass sometimes?" Maka was annoyed, but Soul and Kid both watched her anger grow, and grew all the more happy as she scolded him. Alucard, however, looked both angry and saddened at the same time, and it worried all three Shibusen students.

The winds picked up once again, just a bit more, and went into a deadly calm; the kind that happens right before a big storm.

"Take a joke, Maka. I was only playing around, you know that. Stop being such a prude." He said, just a little more harshly than he meant to say it, which caused Maka's anger to increase seven-fold. She started to speak in Romanian to him, which only added to his displeasure, because it was his first language, which Maka would only use with him for more formal matters, letting him know she was going to start yelling, and she almost never yelled at him.

"Alucard Van Helsing, cum îndrăznești să-mi spui o mironosiță. Nu-mi pasă dacă glumești în jurul valorii de, dar ma saruta este un alt lucru. Apreciez ajutorul tău, dar dacă te trage vreodată că rahatul din nou, nu te voi ierta, ai înțeles?"

(Translation:Alucard Van Helsing, how dare you call me a prude. I don't care if you're joking around, but kissing me is another thing. I appreciate your help, but if you ever pull that shit again, I will never forgive you, got it?)

* * *

~Alucard's P.O.V.~

I knew I was in the doghouse with Maka, and apparently so did the reaper-boy and the pup. I could see them trying to hold back their giggles. I knew it was peculiar for a royal blood to be scolded, let alone by a noble, but I did care for Maka. She was mine, and even if she didn't know it, I was hers. I would be at her beck and call and wouldn't think twice. She may have been part human, but I saw through it all. She was strong, beautiful, and smart. My kind of woman.

I gave in, her presence soothed me and soon all my anger was gone, she was one of the few who could make me feel guilt. That in itself, was a miracle. The weather once again died down, for all I felt now was some discomfort around the reaper boy and pup. Those little children, laughing at my demise.

"I'm sorry. I guess I got carried to far, I just wanted to have a bit of fun. Forgive me; I was wrong." I said, stepping back and giving her a traditional bow, as was Japanese custom.

Had there not been anyone else around I would give a more formal bow of forgiveness custom to vampire traditions, getting down on one knee, and bringing her hang t my forehead, or kissing the marks on her right hand if she were fully same marks that would create a ring around her right ring finger when she was fully awakened, and signified power, and would make an elegant design of swirls on her long, pale finger.

They symbolized the power and wisdom that came with being awakened. Most marks were on the hand, and Maka's would be a ring, but sometimes others had marking on other places, such as the cheek, eyes, arms, back, legs, feet, anywhere really. They would be much like tattoos on the vampire, and that's how most would view them, as nothing more than a tattoo, but to me, that ring would mean so much more.

Her frown melted away, and gave way to a pleased smile.

Perhaps it was also just a little smug, knowing that she had this much power over me, that somehow the roles were reversed, and I, the master, became subject to another, who was not my father. I felt some shame in being so submissive to her will, but I felt the need to please her. I felt the soothing effects of her Soul purify me, it was almost as if I could feel the warmth of the sun again, and I didn't want anyone to share it with.

She was my sun in a world of darkness.

Had it been anyone else, I would have them ripped limb from limb by horses going in four separate directions, but being that it was Maka, I gave in.

_I'm so whipped. _

I straightened myself and once again towered over Maka and her petite frame, the pup and reaper watched me intently, and knowing this, I wanted to claim her as mine right there, drink her blood and have her drink mine, a ceremonia osulor right in front of their eyes, forever ingraining it into their minds, that she would eventually be mine, and I would be waiting for all eternity. Waiting, for Maka.

* * *

~Normal P.O.V.~

"I forgive you, but remember what I just said." Maka replied, semi-strictly.

Soul and Kid's satisfaction started to melt away, if she was forgiving him already, they were much too close.

"Of course." Alucard replied. "And I will be sure to tell Kami everything's just fine, and Father wanted to know how you have been doing, so I will make sure to tell him that you're fine. I'm sure he will be glad to hear. He also says if you're ever back home for a mission and need anything, feel free to stop by. The girls say hello, and so do the Knight boys. The guys back home told me to give you this."

In Alucard's hand was a red box, decorated with swirls of black, lined with silver. The elegant design was finished off on top with a black and silver bow bow.

Maka eyed the box curiously, "What could it be? They already gave me a going away gift, and I loved the relaxation kit. They didn't need to get me another gift."

Alucard chuckled, "Well considering that we may not see you before your seventeenth birthday party, they decided to chip in and get a collective gift, rather than over-encumber me with a ton of gifts. I think it's a sweet idea, but if you don't like it, then don't worry, you still have my personal gift to you, but that's not arriving until later. They also told me you can't open it until your birthday. So do you swear you won't?"

Maka raised her right hand, "Cross my heart. But that doesn't mean I can't guess."

This elicited a deep chuckle from Alucard, "Guess so." He handed her the box.

It was small enough to be held in one hand, but not small enough to be jewelry, nor was it large enough to be holding anything larger than a really fat recorder, or so Maka thought.

Soul wondered when her birthday was, as Kid thought about what to get her, both never really taking their attention fully away from the two vampires.

"I guess I should get going, father sent me on other errands because I volunteered to come here." He gave Maka a quick hug and looked up quickly,

"Why hello, Kid, its been a while." Alucard said while smiling like a Cheshire cat.

"Yes it has. Hello Alucard, how are you; what brings you here?"

"Well I was sent by Kami to check on Maka, and I also have some business matters to attend to in the area, so I'm doing great, being that I get to say goodbye to Maka after all. How are you, I assume all's well?" He said, his arm still hanging loosely around her waist.

Kid gave a smile back, now was his time to crush Alucard in idle conversation while seeming completely innocent.

"Yes, everything's going amazing from this end. Today's Maka's first day as a student here, and she has been placed in the elite program since she excels with her studies. She's in the Spartoi, the most elite group we have. So everything's going along perfectly, considering it's only her first day. But tell Kami and your father I said hello and wish them well. Also, tell Kami that she needn't worry, I share classes with Maka and so do her other new friends. Even Patti took a liking to her remarkably quickly, and considering she doesn't do that too often, it's a very good thing. So there's really no need to send someone here just to check on her, a simple letter, phone or mirror call or e-mail would do, especially considering how taxing travel can be. I'm sure Maka knows what I'm talking about." He smiled sweetly at Maka as she lifted her head up from looking at the ground in thought.

"Oh. Yeah, Kid's a little right. You work too much, but since you were coming here anyways, I see nothing wrong with it this time around. Although you should get breaks more often, you'll work yourself to death at the rate you're going." She may have been saying it with good intentions, but it still bothered Alucard a bit.

Alucard gave a laugh, knowing that he had to act alive around the pup, which was somewhat entertaining.

"I'll be fine, and you can't be hypocritical, Miss Albarn. You work hard enough that I'm surprised you haven't collapsed. You haven't, have you?"

"Ha! You and I both know that's never going to happen." Maka retorted.

"Okay, sure, just make sure you take care of yourself, 'kay princess?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah; whatever you say Al." She said sarcastically.

"I mean it." He then turned to Kid, "Make sure she doesn't do anything stupid, I'm guessing you know how hard-headed and stubborn princess over here can be."

"Hey! Stop talking about me like I'm a puppy or something, and I'm not stubborn! Jeeze." Maka pouted, making the guys all chuckle a bit at how cute she was being.

"I know," Kid said

"Hey!"

"Don't worry about her, I'll take care of her." Kid finished.

"Alright," Alucard said with a nod to Kid. "I'll get going now, bye Kid, and...?"

"Soul"

"Cool name, bye soul." He turned to Maka and gave her a tight hug, to which she returned. They stayed that way for a moment, and they pulled apart as Alucard said "Bye princess."

But what Kid and Soul didn't catch were his real last words to her.

_"When you're done playing around with the reaper kid and his guard dog, you know where to find me."_

Maka kept her mouth shut about it as they walked to the cafeteria, wondering what it meant. All three walked back in a comfortable silence, as each were preoccupied with their own thoughts.

_Who the hell was that? _Soul wondered.

_Why did he call her 'princess'?_ Kid thought.

* * *

Maka fell back a bit in the hallways to allow herself to have time to make a turn if Soul and Kid did ahead, so that she wouldn't not notice and keep walking in the wrong direction like she would probably do walking next to them, especially as deep in thought as she was, she was on autopilot.

Kid and Soul were talking animatedly about an upcoming team mission they had.

"I can't wait for this mission! A shit load of kishin souls to eat, some fun time giving an ass-kicking to them, the pay's great, and some vacation time to bank. With the pay we'll be getting, I think I'll be set for the rest of the month." Soul said

"With your appetite, I'd say three weeks, and then if you use your vacation time after the mission, I'd say two weeks. Certainly not a month though." Kid calculated.

Soul gave a frown, "Why not?"

Kid chuckled, "You tend to eat more when you can afford it, and based off this mission, it'll be a lot more. Also, if you're on vacation I'd think you'd at least be spending some money at the arcade, or maybe a date at the movies."

"Hell no, no dates. It might be okay if it's a day at the movies or arcade with you guys, but these girls aren't interesting. What's that look on your face for, Kid? I swear to god if you're going to try to set me up with another one of those crazy fan gir-"

"Hey Soul, Hello Kid." It was Jacqueline O Lantern Dupre, better known as Jackie; one of the guys' classmates, she was also one of their fan girls, but less extreme. She used to be much more excited by them, but being in the same class as them, as well as being a member of Spartoi, opened her eyes.

* * *

~Jackie's thoughts on the guys~

Many in the school were hot or at least decent looking, but looks alone weren't what made Soul and Kid big-shots.

It was their skill, and the things you heard about them. They were in the most elite group, the Spartoi, and were in the alpha-team, all other units reported to one of them if no teacher was present. They were the elite of the elite, kings among kings. Kid was the son of the grim reaper, making him really powerful, he would inherit the school, and was mega-rich. You could say Kid owned the school. Soul's past wasn't known by everyone, giving him a mysterious allure. There was also the fact that he and Black*Star were always in a friendly power-struggle for second best fighter, and he was autonomous, meaning that he was powerful enough to hold off the best weapon-meister duo in the school.

Power and ranking meant a ton at that school, it determined where you would be placed in Shibusen, if you made it out of graduation, and it determined your popularity.

Thus, Kid and Soul were the big-ticket items for the girls of the school. Black*Star might have been too, but there were two things from being as fan-girled over: his, obnoxiousness, and the fact that almost everyone knew, without it ever being spoken, that he was Tsubaki's. And Tsubaki wasn't the girl you wanted to mess with if you got her **really** pissed off. And boy, did girls swooning over Black*Star piss her off. But that was best not to think about for too long.

It was also partly their looks and personalities. They contrasted greatly, but that was what made them such great friends. Whereas Kid lost his cool easily, which some thought was cute, Soul was very nonchalant. Soul could come off as cold and uncaring, but was sweet once you got to know him, whereas Kid was either truly sweet, or faking it for the benefit of others, he was rarely cruel. Both were mysterious, but Soul a tad bit more so, being that even his closest friends didn't know much about him, whereas Kid has always been in Death City's public eye, escaping from time to time. Kid's OCD for order and symmetry was seen as cute from time to time during his breakdowns, but often annoying. Soul never broke down, but if he did, most figured him to be the type to lash out rather than being self-deprecating.

But what they both had most in common, was that both wore the same expressions of boredom in class, and towards others as well. Kid may have covered it up, but only when being watched, whereas Soul slapped you in the face with his bored and unamused look. Both were happiest around their clique of friends from the alpha team. Kid overall was a bit cheerier than Soul, as sometimes Soul could be seen scowling even with his friends around.

In class, when neither were talking or preoccupied with something, Jackie found it funny how both would usually be staring into nothingness, or out the window, with their heads on one hand and a blank expression on their face. The same expression Soul had shown to every girl he met for quite some time. Of course, he stopped with Liz and Patti once they were going to kill him out of madness from that 'annoying, stupid, arrogant' look. Soul also respected Tsubaki too much to ever do that to her after he could tell from day one that Tsubaki liked Black*Star and cared for him. There were also other members of the Spartoi that he stopped giving that look to, mainly guys though. But there was one group that had a whole new level of un-interested-Soul-glare specifically for them.

Their fan girls.

Even Kid, who feigned niceness to all, would sometimes scowl or seem bored around the fan girls, they always swooned over him and Soul. Neither asked for it, it just was. Perhaps if the girls would try to get to actually know them for them they would be less passive-aggressive, but it didn't happen all too much. So Soul and Kid, stuck with almost every girl in the school wrapped around their little finger, and what do they do?

They look down on them, Kid didn't let them know it, because Soul's actions spoke clearly enough for the both of them. It must have been nice to have a whole bunch of girls at your beck-and-call. Jackie couldn't blame them, she'd probably be abusing her power over her fan-guys more than they do to their fan girls. Occasionally, they'd use one lucky girl for their delivery person, or if they got bored, well a date or two wasn't bad. They just had to pick carefully. It somewhat irked Jackie though, that they thought of fan-girls as unimportant. Soul especially liked to shut out people.

Another thing that Jackie realized, was that they were out of her league, out of _almost anyone's league_ for that matter. They had their little group of friends that made up the rest of the alpha team, and of course they got along with whomever else they had to work with, but not necessarily befriending them. Jackie decided to take to watching and fan-girling from afar, not participating in much of the gossip anymore, and as time grew on, they had little exchanges from time to time, much more than when she was an extreme fan. Now, they spoke at least once a day, it may have been little nothings, but at least they were nicer with her. She had even taken to occasionally hanging out with them. Of course, it wasn't just her exclusively at those times.

But if they were so out of everyone's league...

_What is so special about Little-Miss-Maka-I'm-from-Japan-Albarn? Why did Kid give her all his attention with sincerity and look at her so sweetly? How come Soul didn't rebel against Stein like he usually would have? He wouldn't have cared what Stein had threatened him with, Soul didn't mind extra missions, it was 'fun' for him to vent his frustrations or annoyances on kishins. And most importantly, why had they BOTH choose her?_

She wasn't necessarily jealous, just a little curious as to why they had chosen to be so nice and accepting of her, of all people. _During first period, how come Kid didn't mind being so affectionate with her? He had to know her, she's Deathscythe's daughter, but how well could he have known her? And Soul! Soul obviously didn't know the girl, but yet he actually bothered to **look **at her, when before Jackie couldn't get more than a **glance**._ It kind of made her wonder what was wrong with her, and what was so important about Miss Albarn.

* * *

~back to reality~

Soul greeted her for the both of them, "Hey Jackie, what's up?"

Jackie smiled at the boys. _I wonder if they know that she's following them?_

She looked over Soul's shoulder to see Maka leaning against the wall, drinking out of thermos, and placing it back in her backpack. Maka was fidgeting with then hem of her shirt, fixing it as she stood waiting for Soul and Kid to continue. She was a little bit away, which made no sense to Jackie, but then again, Maka did seem a tad off.

"You guys know that new girl's following you, right?" She said, looking back at Soul and Kid.

Now Kid joined in the conversation, "Oh, Maka? Yeah we know, we're showing her to the lunch room, as something came up when Soul was showing her around, so she only knows somewhat how to get there. Besides, she's sitting next to me in lunch anyways, I'm making sure of that." Kid said, as if it were royal decree or something, then again, Kid might as well have been royalty.

Jackie smiled sweetly, hiding some of her jealousy, not many got to sit at lunch with them. She figured it must have been Kid trying to be extra nice to her because she was death scythe's daughter, and so they must have had some previous knowledge of each other.

"Awww, that's sweet of you Kid, letting her sit with you so that she's not all alone." Jackie said. It did seem kind of cute on his part, though.

"I don't mind, in fact, it's a pleasure. She's generally nice and we have many of the same interests, so her company is of no bother to me. Besides that, I've known Maka for years, so its not like I'm just going to let her find her own way in the dark." Kid said sweetly, but the sweetness wasn't directed to Jackie, but to Maka as her brought her up.

_Kid's known her for years? How close are they? How come no one else really knew about her?_ Were the shared thoughts of Soul and Jackie as they heard this.

"Oh" Jackie said, trying to seem enlightened instead of annoyed.

Soul had seen through her facade, as well as Kid, but Soul had a great idea. "Hey! Maka! Come over here!" He waved Maka over and she looked up, and silently moved off the way and reached the group with long, graceful strides. It was amazing how she was so quiet in movement, and how she seemed she could cover the distance of at least ten feet in about two seconds without trying.

"Yes?" She said, falling in between Kid and Soul, and across form Jackie.

"Jackie, this is Maka. Maka, meet Jackie" Kid said, catching on to Soul's plan

"Hi. So are you enjoying Shibusen? Is it like you imagined?" Jackie asked, going along with the charade.

"Well I don't really remember how I had imagined it." Maka said, making Jackie think she really had to be an airhead.

"How can you not remember, you had to be thinking of it only yesterday?!" Jackie said in complete disbelief.

Maka giggled, "I've been here numerous times before, the tour was only needed because of the renovations that were made between now and the last time I was here."

"Really? How come I have never seen you before, though you do look kind of familiar..."

"I live in the Shibusen apartments, for years now actually, but I travel a lot so you probably don't see me often. I'm also actually more of a night person myself, so you'd probably be indoors when I go out or sleeping when I'm back in the apartment." Maka said, making Jackie's curiosity grow with every word.

"Hmm, that's interesting, so it must have been hard to wake up so early for school."

"Nope, not at all. I'm awake in the morning, but I just like going out when it's night."

Jackie's eyes widened in disbelief, "Wow, how do you survive with such little sleep?"

Kid's heart started beating faster. _Shit! Shit! Shit! Maka forgot that humans need sleep! How do we cover this-_

"Simple. In the morning I'm usually in my apartment anyways, so I'm doing low activity. Reading, cleaning, cooking, stuff like that. Of course at night I do much of my training, shopping, and take walks and stuff. I was taught a technique to stay awake for long periods of time, but it takes years upon years to master. Basically you sleep for small amounts and throughout the day for about 15 minutes or so you can rest and relax and breathe to feel rejuvenated." Maka covered it up so easily, Jackie, who had a natural ability to sniff out lies quite well, seemed to buy into it.

Jackie asked Maka some more questions and learned that Maka was kind of weird, but actually had normal answers to her oddball side, which made it all the more weird to Jackie. Once Jackie seemed to get enough information to satisfy her appetite, Maka asked the boys to leave them alone for a minute. Being that everyone was at lunch, they simply waited down the hall, and Jackie lowered her voice to a whisper.

"Liar." She said

Maka raised an eyebrow, keeping up a facade of ignorance, "What are you talking about?"

"I know you're lying, about what, I'm not sure. If whatever you're lying about hurts them-"

SMACK! Maka slapped her right across her face, but not hard enough to leave a bruise like she would have, being a vampire and all, but Maka was still furious, and Jackie's reaction wasn't anger back, but shock, and perhaps some fear. Kid and Soul turned their heads in direction towards the smack, but Maka had her arms folded, carrying her books across her chest, and even though it hurt, Jackie was in too much shock to hold her cheek.

"**How dare you.**" Maka growled out, staring Jackie dead in the eye. Now Jackie was terrified, as Maka's eyes seemed to burn a bit brighter, like white hot fire started to blaze behind her green eyes.

"If there's one thing you should know about me, it that I would **never** hurt Kid. _Never_. He's my best friend, and to even think about hurting him is _unimaginable_ to me. You can call me a liar all you want, and you can say whatever I can tell you're going to want to say about me, **but** if it starts involving Kid-" Maka threatened to Jackie, who was now smiling.

"Don't worry, I won't. It's just... listen, Kid and Soul, they are amazing, and I don't mean it the same way that other girls do. They truly are. Being in their class has made me realize how they are as people. I guess I saw the way they look at you with some interest and got jealous. Listen, I think you need to know this, hanging out with Kid and Soul is going to be a lot of trouble. Many other girls might try to destroy you during your first year. Some might be so blinded by their little obsession that they'll go so far as to fight you. Although, I think you have that covered. Just be careful who you make friends with, fan-girls can get really bitchy. I only did because I've seen new girls come in and get try to get their claws into one of them, just for many to get hurt in a fruitless attempt. Sorry, but I figured you would-"

"I wouldn't." Maka replied bluntly. "I forgive you for thinking that way, and I also appreciate that you were looking out for them, especially Kid; it shows you're a good person. I also appreciate the information, but I'm not so weak as to stop being friends with Kid just because a bunch of girls get jealous."

Jackie smiled, "Good. Listen, if you need anything, the beta team girls; me, my meister Kim, and Pot of Fire and Pot of Thunder; will have your back. I can guarantee that. So if you ever need some help, you have some more people. Another thing, I'm glad you're not another one of _those _girls, but make sure you hold on to them for dear life, metaphorically, because there will be others trying to drive wedges between you all. Good luck, you'll need it."

"Thanks, but one more thing. I need you to look me dead in the eyes for this, okay?" Jackie complied and Maka made her voice just a bit more soothing, "Your soul is pure and kind, you may get jealous, but you're only human. Now, I want you to think of what you thought I was lying about. What is it?"

"I thought you were lying about living in the apartments, and the sleep thing." Jackie replied blandly, being that she was entranced by Maka's eyes, it wasn't that surprising.

"Well it's true. It's been true and always will be," Maka's pupils widened a bit then shrunk, leaving much room for the green of her irises. "Do you believe me now?"

"Yes." Still bland.

"Good!" Maka said happily, snapping Jackie out of her trance.

"What just happened?" Jackie felt as if she just got out of sleep.

Maka giggled. "And to think you were worried about me getting little sleep! Well all I did was ask you about what you thought I was lying about, then I explained how there was no reason to lie about that, and then I asked it you believed me, and you said yes, and I said good."

"Oh, sorry, I guess I just spaced out." Jackie said, not catching any hint of a lie this time.

"Hey Maka! I would like to get to lunch before next year!" It was Soul, who couldn't hear any of the girl's low conversation.

"Okay! Bye Jackie, you should get some sleep in the nurses' office." Maka suggested kindly.

"Yeah, I think you're right." They parted ways and Maka caught up to the guys down the hall, falling into step in the gap between them.

"Hey, sorry I took so long." She apologized.

"No problem, I just hope there's still some Mac n' Cheese left." Soul said, quickening his pace a bit.

Kid whispered in Maka's ear, "You know you're not supposed to use your powers, it wastes your energy, and it's risky, you know that." He scolded, worried about her.

"She has a curious soul," Maka said aloud, knowing Soul was wondering what Kid said to Maka, as he caught the sound of kid's voice but not the words, "that's why I took so long."

"Oh, ok." Kid replied. "Just wondering."

All three stepped into the double doors of the cafeteria, leaving the dimly-lit sunlit hallways behind them.

* * *

Sorry this chapter took so long, I haven't had much time to myself. I really wanted Maka's first day to be a two-parter, but it just got wayyy too long to be just two parts. Well you I hope enjoyed the longest chapter ever! Hopefully, if I don't add a whole bunch of stuff, her first day will be finished by the end of chapter 4. You guys are great and I'm liking the reviews, keep it coming. If you happen to know anyone who might like Soul Eater fanfic, why not refer them to me! Any suggestions? Put it in the reviews or you can PM me. Also, I'm not sure about my pairings for this story yet, unlike with Only one, where it's basically planned out. So why don't you tell me what you think in the reviews while I think of wether or not I'm making a poll or not for possible parings.


	4. Chapter 4: First Day pt 3

_"Hey, sorry I took so long." She apologized._

_"No problem, I just hope there's still some Mac n' Cheese left." Soul said, quickening his pace a bit._

_Kid whispered in Maka's ear, "You know you're not supposed to use your powers, it wastes your energy, and it's risky, you know that." He scolded, worried about her._

_"She has a curious soul," Maka said aloud, knowing Soul was wondering what Kid said to Maka, as he caught the sound of kid's voice but not the words, "that's why I took so long."_

_"Oh, ok." Kid replied. "Just wondering."_

_All three stepped into the double doors of the cafeteria, leaving the dimly-lit sunlit hallways behind them._

* * *

As the three of them stepped into the cafeteria, heads turned immediately in their direction, and while some just stared, others got to gossiping. Kid and Soul seemed used to their fangirls gossiping about them and paid no mind, but Maka was curious as to what they had to say. As she made her way to the table with Kid and Soul she picked up one of the tables she was passing by's conversation. They were all about Maka's age, but second years as of today, being that it was the new year.

_"Who's the new girl?" _It was a boy, who seemed to be somewhat fixated on Maka, even though she didn't turn around to see it. She didn't have to, she could feel his one uncovered chocolate eye beaming into the back of her head.

_"I don't know, but I don't like her already, why are Kid and Soul being nice to her?" _The silvery-white haired girl said, her lips in a frown, the dots at the end emphasizing the frown. She was typically passive, but that didn't mean she wasn't jealous. She just wouldn't stir up trouble over it.

_"Kid's nice to everyone, but Soul-"_ Another boy started,

_"Don't worry, she's probably being shown around by Kid, and Soul's probably happy he has someone new to toy with, or just following Kid's lead and being nice. Everyone knows Soul isn't naturally nice, just look at him, even his demeanor is intimidating." _Another girl said simply, so sure of herself, cutting off the light-brown haired boy. He scowled at her but didn't stop her from talking, he was afraid, but wouldn't show it.

It kind of bothered Maka, how they talked about them so much when they didn't know them, how they fed off gossip. She was annoyed until a familiar voice came into the conversation.

"I wouldn't talk about her if I were you guys, first off, she's your senpai." The voice said coolly, and Maka smiled, turning her head to the table for a moment, forgetting that she was supposed to be too far for any normal human to hear their conversation. She noticed Jackie talking to the second years in Maka's defense, making Maka smile.

She stopped in place to scan over the table. The boy with the one covered eye had noticed, and locked eyes with her. She knew that he knew that she somehow knew their conversation was about her. It kind of freaked him out. Kid and Soul asked her what's wrong when they noticed the way she just looked behind and stopped, fixate, on something, and she turned her head back again, telling them that it was nothing. Kid and Soul looked at each other, and Soul just shrugged. They continued walking, and Maka listened to the conversation some more.

"Hey, guys, I think she heard us." It was the boy with the one covered eye.

"Shut up then! If you guys are so cowardly as to say things behind her back and get worried when you think it reached her ears, pack your bags. Shibusen doesn't need pansies like you." Jackie hissed.

"Bu-" the guy started,

"No buts!" She scolded, "As I was saying, that's your senpai, even though she's younger than you. So don't go talking shit, especially when she's obviously better. She's also deathscythe's daughter, his ONLY daughter, and he may be clutzy, but when it comes to his daughter he's another person. Ask Kid, he asked about Maka and Spirit flipped, he was pretty scary, the only reason Kid wasn't as worried is because he's a reaper. Of course, she wasn't here last year, but Stein also happens to be her godfather, he taught her quite a bit before working here apparently, because she beat Black*Star and Tsubaki, and Soul."

"No way! They must have gone easy on her, poor girl, being dilu-"

"I saw it with my own eyes, Shaula! Obviously your ears are occupied with listening to the lies you tell yourself, so read my lips. Stein's. God. Daughter." Jackie stated, emphasizing every syllable at the end. Shaula was annoyed, but Jackie decided to continue.

"She's strong, strong enough to beat you guys to a bloody pulp. She wasn't even armed against Black*Star and Tsubaki. Do you know what her so-called weapon was against Soul? A book! That's something we never thought humanly possible, beating Soul, let alone unarmed. She may be new to the school, but not new to the game. She's lived here and knows how things work. When you guys pass your entrance exams with a perfect score and make it to the Spartoi BY INVITATION,... BY BEING ASKED, then you can start talking shit. By the way, she and Kid have known each other for years, she's probably learned a thing or two from him as well, so I wouldn't advise anything, especially since you lot are so-"

"So what?" Shaula screeched, getting up and grabbing Jackie by the collar. Maka, along with some others, turned around to see the commotion. Noting that this was a school of fighters, fights and arguments weren't much of a big deal unless it was more important people. While Jackie was a Spartoi, the

Jackie did a partial transformation, turning an entire arm into a long lamp, fires burning bright on the inside, ready to fry the black haired second year. Shaula, noting this let go, and Jackie lowered her arm, but Free, on the other hand, didn't appreciate Jackie's unsaid threat.

As soon as Jackie changed her arm, Free grabbed her arms and pinned her against the nearby wall behind her, using his other large hand to grab her by the neck. His hands were large enough to certainly keep her down. It was no secret Free was strong, strong enough to even contend with some Spartoi. Her arms rested at an awkward position, and Free's grip was so strong it was sure to bruise.

No one helped Jackie out, most were too afraid, didn't know what was going on, or thought it was a fight, as usual. Maka, Jackie, Free and the table that the latter was at were the only ones who new the real truth. Some wanted a show, and since the battle was a bit more uncertain as to who would win, they simply watched.

Some Spartoi thought that Jackie should be able to handle herself, or thought it was simply a fight. Most thought that it wasn't their place to gang up on Free, or that Kid wouldn't like that much, since he wasn't doing much, but in reality, all were ready to strike if the tension got a little too high, even Kid.

Maka instantly knew what he was, but didn't want to alert him of what she was. But the second she heard a small whimper from Jackie, she ran like the devil was at her heels. Well, at least that is what it would be like if she were human, as a vampire, she held back but still came out looking like a track star.

It took a second for the boys on either side of her to register her missing from their sides and up ahead, doing a handspring over one of the small square tables for two. Free was growling threats to Jackie that only the three of them could hear. At that moment, she didn't care if he found out, because it seemed that no one else knew what he was.

By the time it registered with the boys, she was almost there. Kid and Soul started to run, but Maka was really fast, already at the pair on the other side of the cafeteria by the time Kid and Soul made it past the first table.

Maka was starting to get really pissed as she heard Free threaten to rip Jackie in half. She leaned against the wall coolly, even though she was ready to tear him limb from limb, and kill him, with his heart in his mouth; much like a roasted pig with an apple.

Kid stopped dead in his tracks, as did Soul and some other Spartoi that were running towards the two. Kid knew Maka could handle herself, and he was worried for Maka, butting in might not be the best idea, or so he thought. When he stopped moving, Spartoi stopped, he was the leader, and if he felt that it wasn't their place to but in, or that simply watching and waiting was best, then by the grace of Death, they would do it.

"Hello Free, it IS Free right?" Maka asked, she knew Jackie was being chocked, and she had wriggled out one hand, trying to pull his larger one from her neck, trying to breathe, but Maka had to make sure she didn't do anything that made him snap her neck right then and there.

" 'the **fuck **do you want?" He growled at her, not yet knowing what, or who, he was talking to.

_Think Maka, don't let him know just yet. Not yet. Wait for it, you have Jackie to think about._

"Such, improper language, you really shouldn't talk like that around a lady. Bad manners and such." she chided coldly, as if Jackie wasn't in danger, or as if she was some high class person talking to nothing but lower commoners.

Her voice sounded more mature than she usually had it, it was the voice she reserved to her vampyric self, her voice for commands, business, and when she needed to 'fit in'. It was meant for formalities, to be as cold and commanding as possible, yet equally as warm and genuine if needed. It cut through him like ice, and once Jackie heard the smooth voice, her eyes widened a bit, she hadn't seen this side of Maka, nor had she thought she could sound so cold.

"Guess you did hear our conversation, like I said, 'the fuck do you want, **bitch**." He growled, turning most of his attention to Maka, but still holding Jackie against the wall, toes barely touching the ground, with one large hand.

Maka gave an unamused laugh of superiority. She looked at him dead in the eye and said, "Funny, I don't recall being your mother, nor your sister."

Free growled at Maka, letting go of Jackie's neck, but she was too scared to move, Free still had an arm against the wall and she would have to pass right in front of Free to escape. Standing quietly would be the best option.

"**The fuck did you just say?**"

_Almost, not just yet Maka. Bide your time. _

Maka sighed. "Wow, you really are stupid, or deaf. I just said I don't recall being related to you."

At this, Free's eyes were concentrated only on Maka,she insulted him, and she was the reason Shaula was angry, so why not kick the girls ass?

"I suggest you watch your mouth, you little bitch. Before I-"

"No." Maka said, cutting him off rudely. _Not yet, not yet._

"What?!" Free was shocked, and angry. _Who the fuck does she think she is? Does she even know who she's talking to?_

"No." Maka said again, leaning in closer, she stopped next to his ear and whispered

"**I suggest _you _watch who _you're_ talking to, you stupid mutt.**"

_Now. _She thought.

Maka released some 'monster energy', as it was dubbed by most, energy that let other 'monsters' know your power and what kind of monster you were. It was connected with one's soul, but not the same. Monster energy was what told others to back off, a sign of where you were on the food chain, not that they actually ate each other.

It gave them an aura that screamed 'danger' or 'don't mess with me or I'll fuck you up'. People sometimes could see monster energy if great amounts were released, but that was only with more powerful ones. If Kid, for example, were to release his reaper energy, it would be visible in large amounts. However, Kid would have it tie in with his Soul wavelength rather than just releasing it.

Maka, on the other hand, was releasing just enough monster energy for the dumb dog to learn what she was. However, most in the cafeteria could feel it as a killing intent or intense desire to harm him, as that's what her vampire side was feeling at the time.

Free's muscular body tensed all over, and Maka decided to continue.

"**Learn your place, before I teach it to you. Remember this instance, because if you threaten to kill one of my friends ever again, I'll rip you limb from limb, tear your heart out, and feast on your blood.**"

Maka's cold threat cut through him, leaving him wide-eyed and worried. Werewolves had always been subservient to vampires, the side-kicks really, and it went back to their predecessors, Dracula and Michael. Most werewolves didn't mind, because they were generally treated well, and Dracula made sure they were, but if one got out of line...

Then the rules didn't seem to apply much anymore.

Free was weighing the options he had and chances of making it in a fight with her. Sure, werewolves were stronger, but only in wolf form and he couldn't transform here. Vampires were faster, and they blended in well with whatever they had enchanted. It could have been the small ring on her right ring finger, or even her shoes. To determine what it was and get it off her would take too long, and make everyone else wonder about him. Maka burning from the sunlight and turning into white ash would alert the students, exactly what he didn't need.

She pulled away from his ear, leaving him with more questions about her than one would care to have. _She's strong, who is she? Is she a noble? Does Lord Death know about her? What is she doing here? How can she be Death Scythe's daughter if she's a vampire? She had to be bitten, she's probably not a noble. Is she?_

"Jackie, go. **Now.**" Maka ordered. Jackie obliged and ran towards Soul and Kid as they were closest to them, but still not close enough to notice anything. Free let her run by without a word, or so much as a look in her direction. Jackie was almost hysterical, she was freaking out and her group ran up and surrounded her. Havar took her into his arms and hugged her gently as she freaked out. It wasn't Free that scared her, well in part it was, but Maka. She could have sworn Maka was an entirely different person.

What no one knew yet was that being around Kim a lot made Jackie sensitive to monster energy, well energy in general. It gave her a somewhat sixth-sense, not soul perception, but the ability to empathize with people and creatures...

And Maka was out for blood.

She was ready to kill Free, and Jackie never felt anything like it before. Free may have had a temper, but it was more for the sake of Shaula that he would have beat her senseless, but not dead.

Maka was now about three steps away from where she was, near Free, but no one was close enough to hear them as he asked Maka.

"What about you?" He asked

"What about me?" She asked back.

"What if I were to tell your secret?" He was curious, he probably wouldn't, but what would she do?

"Well, it wouldn't be the best thing for your health, but I could deal with it. I could leave as easily as the moon waxes and wanes. I don't have many strong ties here like you seem to." She said looking from Free to his table to him again.

"On top of that," she continued, "I'm strong enough to take you out if need be. So I guess my previous threat stands for anything you could possibly do against me. Don't worry though, as long as you don't say a word, I won't say a word, and we could just act as if nothing just happened between you and I. But there is one thing..." Maka said, walking closer to him.

"What's that?" Free was still on guard.

"Shake on it." Maka said simply, holding out her hand.

Free reluctantly took it, and shook her hand. During the shake however, Maka quickly broke his wrist, a loud crack resonated through the silent cafeteria.

"**FUCK**! I thought you said we were even! You **bitch**!" Free howled in pain.

"I never said we were even, you assumed that. I said we _could_ act as if nothing ever happened, not that I would, nor did I say Jackie's name. I said 'nothing between _you and me_'. Besides, I had to do something to make you and Jackie even, you did do quite a bit of bruising, and her right arm is slightly fractured, I could tell. Just be happy your wrist is all I broke and quit your bitching and get to Nygus or Kim while I tend to Jackie." Maka ordered, her voice was back to normal as people were now able to hear her.

"Fine." Free growled, walking off to the dispensary.

Maka walked over to Jackie's group and Jackie whimpered. They all noticed, and suddenly Ox, Kilik, and Pot of Thunder and Pot of Fire got in Maka's way. Jackie's body was almost entirely blocked from view as she hid against Havar's chest, weeping. Kim was with Jackie, and never got a good look at Maka, until now. She felt like she knew her, but she couldn't remember how. Maka's view of Kim, however was blocked by the four in her way.

"What are you doing? She's injured and sure to bruise if I don't treat her." Maka inquired. She didn't like where this was going. Did they find out?

Kilik looked at her dead in the eyes. "Jackie's afraid of you, that's not something that happens usually. We don't trust you."

Maka raised an eyebrow, "Why would she be afraid of me? I'm the new nurse's assistant, I'm here to help."

"We don't know why she's afraid, and excuse us if we seem rude but we don't trust nurses easily." Ox said coldly, but it didn't phase Maka in the slightest.

"I understand your concern, especially when a witch was a nurse here for years right under your noses. However, I'm obviously not a witch; I'm Deathscythe's daughter. His only child, whom he had with the highly regarded meister Kami Satsuki." Maka explained.

"She said 'monster'. That's the one word she was repeated as she was hysterically crying. Why would she say that?" Havar questioned, his gaze on Maka was hard.

"Well, monster, that's a new one alright. Listen, I know I look like I've went through hell and back today, but I can't possibly look _that_ bad." Maka joked, giving a genuine smile. "Seriously, though, what does she have to fear from me?"

Ox looked over his shoulder at Jackie, who was still hiding against Havar, "What did you feel? Are you sure it was her?"

Jackie stepped forward a bit, now hiding behind Ox's taller frame, peering at Maka.

"I felt... angry. No, livid? I just knew I wanted to tear someone to pieces, feeling joy from the pain of the other, an anger so intense, I'm not sure it was humanly possible. Free may have had some killing intent, but he was probably only mad enough to beat me senseless, not to death, or at least I don't think so... Maybe it wasn't just the anger in one of them, maybe it was somehow mushed together... I don't know." Jackie said, Maka seemed different now, like the Maka she had known before. The other one, that wasn't even Maka, but something darker.

"It's fine. Sorry if I scared you Jackie, I'll just call the other assistant, Kim Diehl." Maka said.

Kim perked up at her name and moved to the front of the group. "Maka?"

"Yes?" Maka met eyes with the girl who said her name. "Are you Kim? Wait, didn't you used to go by a different name? You seem so familiar. Perhaps I'm mistaken, perhaps you're a diff-"

"No, no, you're right. I used to go by my full first name, Kimika. Do you remember?" Kim said, cutting her off.

"How could I not?!" Maka said with joy. They hugged, and Kim's friendliness towards Maka eased the tension in the room a great deal, but it was still kind of awkward.

"So, you made it here I see," Maka started, "are you one of their partners?"

"Actually, yes. I'm Jackie's meister." Kim said, the awkwardness in the room started to grow a bit.

"Oh. So I guess that means you're-"

"Don't be stupid Maka!" Kim said, cutting Maka off. "I understand what happened, and you shouldn't be so worried. They all know I'm a witch and accept me, so why didn't you just tell everyone in the first place?"

"It's already weird enough I'm Deathscythe's daughter, Stein's god-daughter... and well honestly that list never seems to end. Give me a break, will 'ya?" Maka asked

It was then Kid tensed, which didn't go unnoticed to Soul.

"Yo Kid, you okay?" He asked, with an eyebrow raised. His British accent escaped a bit, as it always did when he was concerned, nervous, relaxed... well as it did a lot.

"Yeah, I'm cool." He lied, and Soul noticed, but Soul decided to drop the subject. It was a sort of unspoken agreement that they give each other space and let them work it out in their own 'man's way' of doing things; unless it was something obviously not cool to keep secret.

"Hey Maka, listen, if you want I'll explain to Jackie. It's your call though." Kim said

"Sure, it really doesn't matter either way, but I guess I'll say it." Maka said, and then she turned to Jackie and her group.

Kid's eyes widened, _is she seriously going to tell them?__  
_

"Sorry if I scared you Jackie, I didn't mean to, but I'm really not sure how to say it. Well, it all starts with the reason for why I'm autonomous, and it's also the reason I know Kim. See, before Kim ever was a student here, she used to treat me, because I was afflicted... with black blood. So nowadays, when I fight or feel threatened, I have strong feelings, usually indescribable anger. Better than madness I suppose."

Gasps and murmurs resonated through the cafeteria. Kid relaxed, wondering why Maka didn't really tell the truth. It wasn't a full-blown lie either.

Maka and Kim met when they were younger, and Maka used to get really strong feelings when she fought or hunted. It wasn't anger however, but blood lust. Of course, it was caused by the black blood that all vampires have, and Maka's grigori soul usually helped her, but sometimes the cravings would get terrible. So terrible, they were, that Kim had helped to develop something to replace blood in Maka's diet. It was a potion she dubbed blood plus, or b+ for short. It was the perfect substitute until Maka was commissioned to hunt kishin, along with other guardians. Since then, Maka didn't have much of a need for b+.

It was a good thing she accepted the position though, because one day Spirit came across the vamp-human hybrid and witch. Instead of killing her, however, as she was so young, Maka convinced him to talk to Lord Death first, because she had restorative magic. He also agreed because he couldn't say no to Maka-chan, nor could he erase all feeling of indebtment to the girl who aided his daughter more than he had. Lord Death agreed to take her in, and offered her a position as a nurse's assistant, which made her a nurse when Nygus was busy. The two girls, however, never really got to see each other, and after a while, stopped contact altogether.

Kim was also the one who enchanted Maka's rings and necklace. Her restorative magic, coupled with that fact that Maka was usually only half-vamp until she transformed, allowed her to be like a normal human in the sun. However, she couldn't tan naturally, so her skin was pale. The restorative property prevented damage from occurring on the outside if she ever was fully transformed. Before, Maka could only fully transform where there was no sunlight, or use energy with her shadow power to protect herself.

Soul's eyes widened. She had some guts to tell everyone else something only his closest friends knew about him.

_Then again, _Soul thought, _she doesn't look like I do, and she hasn't been branded a monster by anyone other than Jackie so far._

"Well then," Maka said, "I can see when I'm not wanted around, so I guess I'll-"

"Be sitting next to me." Kid concluded for her.

Maka almost forgot about Kid, and both knew he would never leave her alone.

Kid smiled at her, walked up and grabbed her hand, and walked over to his friends at the table, Maka in tow. Soul followed, chuckling at Kid and Maka. It wasn't until they reached the table that they noticed.

There were only two seats left. And it was a booth-style table, so they couldn't simply pull up a chair.

Maka looked at Kid, "It's fine, I can sit somewhere el-"

Kid sat down, puling Maka on to his lap, making Maka turn light pink. "I'm not leaving you alone, especially not on your first day. No complaining, and you're always welcome here with us, okay?" Everyone nodded in agreement, making Maka smile. Soul was still standing, thinking about what Maka just admitted, and how surprised he was at how they accepted her so easily. "Soul, sit down." Kid ordered.

Soul snapped out of it and sat down in his usual spot on the end of the table, and this time, across from Patti, who handed him a tray with Mac n' Cheese. She had a feeling that they would be too late, so she made sure they got three trays of food. Next to Patti was Liz, who handed Kid his tray, who she was sitting next to. Across from Kid was Tsubaki, and she handed Maka her tray with a sweet smile.

"Oh, I'm sorry, but I wasn't going to get lunch, actually. I have bento." Maka said politely.

"WHAT'S THAT?" Black*Star asked curiously, albeit loudly.

"It's basically a box lunch for one that's either take-out or home-made common in Japanese cuisine. You're Japanese, aren't you? I'd figure you would know what bento is." Maka said

"HOW'D YOU KNOW I'M JAPANESE?! THE GREAT BLACK*STAR NEVER SAID HE WAS JAPANESE!"

"I'm Japanese, I can spot someone who's Japanese as easily as I can count to three. Tsubaki's also Japanese and I could tell before I even heard her name. Tsubaki, you seem like you're the one who cooks, am I correct?"

Tsubaki was interested by this girl and the way she thinks. It was kind of weird how she was so percipient, but she was glad there was finally another Japanese person she could talk to, one that actually knew the culture. "Yes. How'd you know?"

"Considering you both have a lunch that's obviously home-made, one of you have to cook. I'm not sexist, but it's true that the girl usually cooks, but that wasn't what made my decision, it was the fact that Black*Star ate his sushi and ice cream at once just now. I figure he's the guy who will eat anything edible, so for the food to look and smell good, it needs someone who doesn't eat something just 'cause it's edible." Maka said, making everyone laugh a bit.

"That's very observant of you, Maka." Tsubaki said

"Thank you, Tsubaki." Maka said, bending down a bit to get the bento out of her bag. She came back up to see Black*Star snickering.

"Black*Star," Kid warned, "Stop being so crude."

"WHAT IT'S NOT LIKE ANYONE ELSE WASN'T THINKING IT! BESIDES, IT'S SO OBVIOUS THAT YOU GUYS ARE GETTING IT I-"

"Black*Star!" Tsubaki warned

Maka and Kid were both beet red, but it was Maka who spoke first.

"No! It's nothing like that, I guess we're just too comfortable to be aware of little things like that." Maka said.

"YOU CALL THAT LITTLE? SO YOU GUYS REALLY MUST BE-"

"No. We're not. And yes, I _do _call that little. I mean, come on, we're all teenagers, and I really doubt any of us here haven't _at least_ had a fling or something, except, you know, maybe Black*Star..." Maka said, very bluntly too. Black*Star got on top of the table and started ranting.

"I'LL HAVE YOU KNOW THE GREAT CAN GET ANY GIRL HE WANTS!"

Black*Star's ranting seemingly started to annoy Tsubaki, and Black*Star, being, well Black*Star, was none the wiser, completely oblivious.

"MAKAAA CHOP!"

Maka lodged a thick book from seemingly no where and lodged it into Black*Star's head, leaving the ninja-assassin on the floor, the beginnings of a bruise forming where the hardcover landed.

"Then stop giggling like a prepubescent girl and grow a pair. While you're at it, why don't you ask someone out then, Mister I-can-get-any-girl-the-great-me-desires?" Maka retorted, glancing at Tsubaki momentarily.

She had a feeling that provoking Black*Star may prove a bit fruitful for the same girl she managed to inadvertently piss off twice today.

"WHAT?!" Black*Star replied, partly offended, partly nervous about her challenge, not that he would show it.

"You heard me, ask a girl, that you actually want, out. Once she says yes, then I'll take back what I said. If said girl doesn't, then I won't ask anything of you, nor will I bug you about it. Basically no strings attached for you, other than putting your money where your mouth is." Maka replied, knowing his type of guy doesn't back down from a challenge

"CHALLENGE ACCEPTED!" Black*Star said, getting up again, lively as ever. He then turned dutifully to Tsubaki.

The assassin was suddenly stricken with cold feet, his throat felt tight, and he wanted nothing more than to run and hide, and something to drink.

"Hey, Tsubaki?" The assassin said, now talking at a normal tone of voice.

"Yes Black*Star?" Her blue eyes were as deep as the ocean, and he found that he was starting to drown in them.

"Um, well... Would a beautiful goddess such as yourself be so kind as to go out with me, if only to shine her beauty's light on me for a moment in time?" He asked, taking her hand and kissing it.

Everyone at the table was speechless. Most were gaping, but Maka was smirking as she took a sip of her tea, Tsubaki was smiling, and Black*Star was holding his breath.

"Yes! I'd thought you'd never ask!" Tsubaki exclaimed, hugging Black*Star.

"I take back what I said. That was actually quite impressively poetic." Maka said, she was expecting to apologize, but what she wasn't expecting was how truly beautiful his words sounded. It was much like something from one of Maka's many novels.

"HA! BUT THANKS MAKA! I NEEDED A PUSH TO ASK TSUBAKI OUT." With that, the two ninjas left to dump their trays and Black*Star took Tsubaki out to get some alone time before classes resumed.

"What! I've been planning to get them together for five months, FIVE MONTHS! How'd you do it in less than a lunch period?" Liz asked, slightly miffed that her matchmaking services were no longer needed

"Well Black*Star seems like the kind to never back down from a challenge with his big ego so it was relatively easy."

Liz huffed and Patti laughed, kid and Soul smirked.

"'Bout time Black*Star asked her out" Soul said, his accent noticed by Maka now.

"Since when did you have an accent?" Maka questioned, an eyebrow raised.

"It slips out a lot, it tends to happen a lot, you'll get used to it." Liz supplied, now sitting next to Patti to keep her company.

"At least I know that it's not just me who does that." Maka replied, somewhat happy.

"What are you talking about? You don't have an accent." Soul asked.

"Traveling around, I have learned quite an extensive list of languages, but when I speak Japanese is when it comes out. More a subconscious response to change of voice than everyday habit, I assume." Maka replied.

"So what language were you speaking to that guy earlier?" Soul asked, he really was curious about that guy, especially when he seemed so... off.

"Romanian, and he has a name you know." Maka replied

"I was just curious, and excuse me if I was a little distracted by a random older guy flirting with you and giving you your coat. By the way, shouldn't it phase the average teenage girl when a guy says you left something at his place?" So questioned, leaving Kid annoyed because he was reminded, Liz raising an eyebrow, and Patti smiling mischievously.

"What's Soul talking about, Maka? Does someone have a boyfriend already? " Liz teased.

"First, no, he's not my boyfriend. He's a friend of mine sent by mama to check up on me, Death knows that she doesn't want to risk a run-in with Spirit. Second, his name is Alucard Van Hellsing. Thi-"

"NO WAY! You mean to tell me that the heir to arguably the most powerful family in Europe was flirting with you!" Liz squealed, Patti giggling alongside her sister.

"Yes and no, he wasn't flirting." Maka started, only to be interrupted by Soul's muttering.

"Bullshit." Soul muttered under his breath. Maka's sensitive hearing caught it though.

"I heard that, Soul, and it's not bullshit. His father and my mother are strong business partners, as well as partners of Lord Death and the Shibusen group . My mother owes much of her success to his father, and they have been friends since before I was born. It's only natural we are friends as well. Besides, Al's like an older brother to-"

"I pray to god your older brother doesn't kiss you like that." Soul interrupted, making Patti snort milk out her nose and Liz do a spit take with her cola.

"What! He kissed you!?" Liz asked incredulously.

"I'm an only child, and about that, he just wanted to bug you and Kid. He knows Kid's a good friend and loves to make me get a little flustered. Seeing you show me around probably bugged him a bit, you know, man-ego and all that. Besides, his father adores me, he's been trying to push the idea of an arranged marriage for years now, of course, mama won't give it the light of day. Besides, I only see him as a friend and future business partner. And about the coat I left, his place isn't just his, it's his entire family's in a sense. The main mansion is home to the head family, but many of the extended family may stay as long as they are welcome, even close friends can stay. I myself have stayed for vacations and such, and so have our shared friends. I probably left my coat in his room when we were playing Black Ops 2. So does that satisfy everyone?"

Kid, Liz, Patti, and Soul all nodded their heads. Soul didn't know why he cared so much, but he again chalked it all up to the bad vibes he felt around Alucard.

Kid felt a bit more glad when he heard that she didn't have feelings for him. Though he didn't fully believe it, he still thanked Death for the fact that Kami was all for her daughter's right to be free.

After a few seconds of silence, Liz asked the question heaviest on everyone else's mind.

"Maka, why are you still sitting on Kid's lap?" Liz asked suggestively.

"Huh? Oh, I guess we were just comfortable like this, or at least, I was." Maka said, completely ignoring the more suggestive part of Liz's question.

"If you want, you can stay here. It doesn't bother me in the slightest." Kid said, completely innocently, but did it sound innocent? Not so much.

"Wow, Kid, since when have you been one for sexual comments like tha- " Liz started

"No! I seriously didn't mean it like that! Forgive me Maka!" Kid said, starting to panic a bit.

"I know what you meant, now calm down." Maka said plainly, eating a piece of sushi with her eyes closed; no annoyance or anger sprinkled in her voice at all. With Kid, she was so patient and understanding, and it didn't hurt that he was too proper to be so crude without provocation.

Kid calmed himself, muttering a 'thank you' while slouching against Maka's shoulder. Some onlookers, mainly fangirls, were surprised by Kid's relaxed posture and demeanor and gave Maka death-glares to which she paid no attention. It even impressed the three weapons at the table, but they didn't say anything about it.

* * *

The rest of lunch went by in a cinch, and next were training classes with Sid and Nygus. The class stood in the grassy area between the track field and school building, ready for another obstacle course, as was usual. They were all changed into some sort of P.E. uniform. Most had just a T-shirt and shorts, some had tank tops, and others, sweats. There really wasn't a dress code for P.E. because they figured that a comfortable outfit would let them train more.

Maka was changed into her old school P.E. uniform. A while v-neck tee with black girl's shorts. They weren't long or baggy like basketball shorts, but rather were higher than mid-thigh and form-fitting, something that Maka started to egret since she started getting stared at by the single male population.

"Alright! Listen up! Sid and I decided that since it's a new year that we'd give you a welcome back present: Team Competitions. If you think being placed in the top class this year is a walk in the park just because you get a few perks, then you must be dreaming, so get out of your fairy tales ladies! This isn't lala land! As the top, you must work harder than anyone else. That goes double for Spartoi! As the elite, you must run faster, jump higher, dodge more skillfully, and strike harder and quicker than anyone else. You all want one thing, to either make your weapons into a deathscythe or become one if you're a weapon. Only the good ones make it out alive, the better ones graduate, and the best make up Spartoi and only the best of the best makes a deathscythe!" Nygus was barking out a pep talk to the students, but Maka wasn't at all intimidated. She had a look of determination on her face which few others, mainly Spartoi, shared with her.

"Nygus, I think that's enough." Sid said, noticing how it was getting old for some, including himself. "Alright! You'll get into teams of three pairs, Spartoi, you have your groups already assigned since that's how you're ordered."

Some of the class Crescent Moon students were looking forward to asking some Spartoi to be in their group, and subsequently groaned. Kid's voice then rang out above the rest.

"Sir, Maka doesn't have a group yet." Kid informed.

"Who's Maka again?" Sid questioned; Maka stepped forward from the

"Maka Albarn, sir. I just joined Shibusen this year." She said with a straight face.

"Albarn you say? So you're Spirit's little girl that I never seem to get a break from hearing so much about. Well, minus the little part. You do look much more like your mother though." Sid chuckled

"Thank you, sir. Can I ask something?" Sid nodded, "he still talks about me like I'm five, doesn't he?"

Sid laughed a bit, "Haha, very much so."

Maka scowled, "I'll remember that for later, thank you sir."

Sid laughed some more, "Now you said you just joined Shibusen this year, congrats on being placed in Crescent Moon, let alone the E.A.T. graduating class. Need help picking a team? Want to know who's a hard worker or something?"

"No, sir. I need to know my Spartoi assignment." Maka said bluntly, causing Sid and Nygus to look at her in disbelief.

"Are you sure you were placed correctly? No offense, but it's already incredible that you've made it to the E.A.T. graduating class, made for fourth to fifth years and their respective partners. That also goes for the fact that you're in Crescent Moo-"

"No, Sid. She's correct." A calm and very blunt voice came from behind. Sid turned to meet the pale grey eyes of Professor Stein, but Sid didn't believe what he was told without question; that's the kind of zombie he is.

"Well, then would you care to explain the reasoning for her placement?" Nygus asked. She didn't see eye to eye with Stein very much, and while Stein could see a soul's power, if they couldn't keep up she didn't care how strong the soul was, they would be evicted from her class.

"Well she had a perfect score for placement under the E.A.T. entrance exam, and -"

"Again with exam scores! Stein, I told you once, and I'll tell you again, if she can't perform up to par-" Nygus cut him off, annoyed that her placement was based off an exam. She honestly believed that a good meister should be placed based more on ability than exams.

"M'am, I hate to be blunt, but I could outrun at least half these students. I'm not some pansy ass little girl fresh out of nowhere, and I have fought kishin eggs before. If you really doubt my abilities, test me." Maka interrupted, a determined look in her eyes.

Nygus looked her straight in the eyes, she could see the inner fire hiding behind her forest green eyes. This girl had spunk, and that was something Nygus could respect. It was also so for Maka's blunt attitude, Nygus did appreciate those who could get straight to the point, like her.

"I like your attitude, proves you've got a mean bark, but do you bite?" Nygus replied.

"Break bones when I do, m'am." She answered.

"Alright then, let's see what you've got, maggot." Nygus said, having forgotten that she had not given her a task.

"M'am, you haven't given me a command yet." Maka said, sounding somewhat like an army woman.

Nygus smiled, she liked students who showed discipline, but Stein's face twisted into a small scowl. He pondered whether or not she had yet to find out what Maka really was. And while he was proud of Maka for being on Nygus' good side, he knew the reason she was so.

She was a guardian. She was trained to take orders from a royal and do it without question, unless given permission to. She was trained to kill and have little, if any, convictions about it. Maka's army-like demeanor at the time was habit from being a military dog to Dracula, as guardians were basically that. Dogs who never bit the hand that fed them, even if that very same hand would put them down the second there was any doubt of their loyalty.

Key word: _was._

Stein made his expression change back to impassive as Sid suggested assigning Maka a group based on physical skill, since her placement in the school was based on her mental abilities.

"Alright, first you should know about the arrangement of Spartoi. There are ten groups, each with 3 partnerships. In Alpha team's case, Soul is his own partnerships, since he's autonomous." Sid said, looking to his left.

Maka followed his gaze, and found that he was looking at the weapon who had come to be a topic of conversation. He was laying in the grass on the other side of the track field, an arm over his eyes as to block the sun out. All the Spartoi students were waiting for Maka to be placed so the team competitions could begin. The regular students had already started to been timed by Stein, but since it was obvious Spartoi would beat them, they were grouped separately for P.E.

* * *

Soul had found even himself wondering where Maka would be placed, and if anyone was going to be knocked down a couple of pegs because of it. Soul had thought not, because it would mess with the complexities of any group dynamic. All teams were also complete with 3 partnerships, but the Spartoi wouldn't abandon a long standing member just to place in a new one, that's why they were called shield-brothers and shield-sisters. They would die if it meant keeping another safe.

Soul found that while he wasn't all for the idea of having a newbie come and mess things up, there was no denying her combat skill, nor her genius. For the time being, he would stay on the sidelines, quietly, he decided. He felt that she was useful to the DWMA, no doubt, but he still felt off about her, there was more than just a good warrior; whether it was good or bad, however, wasn't decided yet.

He sat up, looking around and blinking his eyes to adjust to the sunlight. She was talking to Sid, perhaps about where she was going to be placed. He studied her more, the curve of her toned legs, her washboard abs, and hourglass physique. Her skin was creamy, no, ethereal, and seemingly flawless. For a fighter, she didn't have any scars, despite the skin she was showing.

_Shinigami really let those legs grow, _Soul thought.

She was a fine pick out of any litter (even though she wasn't blessed by the 'gods of rack', as dubbed by Soul). He figured perhaps he'd be completely okay with her, if it weren't for her shady actions and explanations, or lack thereof. Then again, who the hell was he to to judge.

* * *

She turned back to face Sid, and he continued to explain that the Spartoi groups are ranked by letter, A to J. Alpha team, was highest, as noted when it's name starts with the letter A. Team Jynx was last, but not bad either, they just specialized in sneak attacks and ambush rather than the more commonplace face-to-face fighting. All three teams already had three partnerships, so Maka would be considered a fourth.

"So, the first event is track. Usually teams would race each other and be given points based on the average of their individual times. The teams themselves sometimes like to add a bit of friendly competition by seeing where each individual ranks. Ten laps around the track is two miles. You, on the other hand will run on the track as well, but your average time will help to determine your placement." Sid informed, sending Maka over to Nygus to explain.

Nygus regurgitated the necessary information on how the day's activities would run to the other Spartoi, and it was decided that teams would go in rank order, ascending. Maka would first race team Jynx.

Maka lined up next to a girl who was stretching before the run.

"You shouldn't stretch yet, you might pull something." Maka warned, the girl's face twisted into an annoyed scowl.

"Who are you, my mother?" The girl spat venomously as they took their starting positions. Maka crouched down into a runner's pose, a little miffed by the girl's attitude.

"No, but I _am_ the new school nurse, by the way, you might want to get a checkup on that head of yours, it seems swollen." Maka retorted, throwing the girl off right before Nygus waved the start flag.

Right then, Maka started running, she decided to hold back, lest she reveal her secret, but what she didn't expect was for the ambush team to be so slow. Maka was already 5 yards ahead of them within seconds. It helped that Maka was a vampire, but she was holding back. Nonetheless, this display caused a commotion with the other Spartoi groups watching.

* * *

Kid was standing up, watching the race with a smirk on his lips, a rare sight for many, even those closest to him. Liz was sitting down near Kid, looking at him, and Patti laid down next to her sister, also looking at Kid.

"Kiddo," Patti started to ask, "you're worrying big sis with your smirk, what did you do?"

Kid chuckled warmly, knowing that he only smirked for four reasons:

a) when he knew juicy information few, if anyone else, knew

b) when he did something mischievous

c) when he got his way

and d) when he was taking pleasure, usually to other's dismay, and usually caused by unfortunate-to-other's events, which were more often than not fortunate for him. And this usually meant that it was usually a result from the earlier three.

"I haven't done anything, it's just that Maka-chan is making this event actually somewhat entertaining." Kid replied, smirking evilly, and chuckling, obviously taking some sort of sadistic enjoyment out of this. To what exactly, they had no clue. Perhaps it was how Maka was a lap and a half ahead of everyone else, as Liz had figured.

Black*Star and Tsubaki turned their heads toward the manically chuckling Kid, and Soul sat up from his lazy pose, using his hand as a visor. He heard the Spartoi cheers and talking about how they hope 'the new girl' gets placed in their team. It was then Soul caught sight of the time and Maka's laps on the screen. He had to say, he was impressed, but it still wouldn't be enough to beat Black*Star or Kid. He didn't know why Nygus had saved them for last to race Maka against, she probably would have been too tired to even walk by then.

No one else spoke as Kid's chuckles subsided back into a silent smirk, they just simply continued to watch the race like hawks.

* * *

Maka had won two entire laps ahead of the Jynx team, something many Spartoi cheered for. The Jynx team were supposedly some of the fastest there were, as would be required for ambush teams. Soon enough Maka had beaten the team Infinity, team Hailshot, and then the Ghost team, and each time she didn't slow down, but rather got faster, beating them quite easily. Soul and many others raised an eyebrow as they noticed Maka wasn't sweating as she was taking a break.

She walked over towards Kid and the Alpha team; soaking wet, but it was noted that the Ghost team mocked team Infinity for losing so easily. Team Infinity was also composed of 5 guys and 1 girl, so the boys decided to thank Maka by dumping water on her like they do in those sports movies.

Big mistake.

Maka ended up soaked enough to where you could see her black sports bra under her white shirt, even though you couldn't when it was dry. On top of that, her hair that she had tied up in a bun now weighed heavily on her head. As a result, she was now taking her first break, a forced one at that.

"Hey Kid, could you toss me my towel? It's the red one on the bench behind you."

Kid walked over to the bench, picked up Maka's towel and tossed it to her. She took a few minutes to dry up as much as she could.

"So Maka, how have you been doing? You have run eight miles." Liz asked

"Good, no, great actually. And I know I've run eight miles, but it sure doesn't feel like it though." Maka said, putting the towel back down and sitting on the bench to dry up in the sun some more.

"Don't worry if it feels long, you'll get used-" Tsubaki started

"Oh I'm not worried because I'm already used to it. I just don't feel like I ran a full eight miles, feels more like five." Maka replied, closing her eyes and soaking in the warmth of the sun.

Liz's mouth dropped open, and everyone stared at her in disbelief, except for Kid. Maka opened her eyes to meet their shocked faces, and Kid's smirking one.

"What? Do I have something on my face?"

Soul chuckled, "You really are something else, bookworm. Even the average student here wouldn't run eight miles and stop just because they got wet and need to dry up."

"Well, I'm not your average student." Maka replied, getting up and walking back to the track. _I'm nowhere near it._

Soul chuckled, "Guess you're not. But hey, good luck. You'll need it, especially when you'll be racing Black*Star and Kid."

Maka laughed and turned around, "If Kid's as slow as he used to be, I'll have no problem beating him."

Kid laughed in response, "You're on, Albarn."

It was then Patti decided to ask the question on many people's minds. "Hey, Maka~, why weren't you sweating, it's hot out here and we're sweating a little by sitting in the sun."

"It's because I don't sweat, or rather, can't." Maka said before turning back and jogging over to the track to start racing again, she was damp, but she was going to deal with it.

"Haha, hey Kid, Maka's like you then." Patti said cheerfully.

"I guess so, but the reasons are different. Just ask Maka when she comes back to explain it more, I'm not exactly sure what it is myself." Kid lied a bit, he knew it was because she was part vampire, but wasn't she also human?

* * *

Maka raced team after team, her speeds never slowing. After beating all the members of team Blade easily, she finally got to race what she thought was some _real_ competition, not that she said that out loud.

Maka lined up with Black*Star to her right and Kid to her left. Soul was to the right of Black*Star, and Tsubaki was to Soul's right. To Kid's left were Liz and Patti, respectively.

The flag went down and Maka took the lead by about three feet. Black*Star and Kid were neck and neck right behind her. Tsubaki kept up pretty well with her meister, tied with her was Soul, and Liz and Patti may have been just a little slower, but both just healed from some substantial injuries to their legs. Otherwise, they would be neck and neck with Soul and Tsubaki.

"Hey Maka!" It was Kid "You've gotten slower, getting tired?" Kid teased

"No I'm just holding back so your and Black*Star's man egos won't be bruised, well badly anyways." Maka retorted

"MY EGO HAS NO FLAWS! I HAVE THE EGO OF A GOD! NO ONE WILL BRUISE IT! SPEED-STAR!" Black*Star yelled out, gaining speed to pull him far ahead of Maka. At the same time, Kid started speeding up, both pulling ahead of her.

_Time to haul ass, let's kick it into first gear._ Maka thought, pumping her muscles faster.

She gained speed, easily catching up to Kid and Black*Star. She smiled, and each of them looked at her, Kid smirking and Black*Star smiling. It was about time someone other than Kid or Soul posed some sort of competition in P.E., Black*star was starting to get bored.

"Cute," Maka said, "you guys thought you could get rid of me." She finished, gaining more speed.

Maka lowered herself more, gaining more momentum and pulling ahead by about 5 yards. Maka knew Kid could catch up if he used his shadow power, but she wondered about Black*Star. The second she heard his name, she knew he was a descendant of the Star clan, once respected warriors who then turned to swords-for-hire, and then into pre-kishins. Their techniques greatly influenced many of her senseis' training methods. Even when training as a guardian, she learned Star clan techniques, and wondered just how good he was, and if she could spar with him some time.

Black*Star was completely thrown off, and he could only catch up about 2 more yards, this girl was fast, even for him. The positions of everyone stayed about the same from then on, Maka leading. They were on their final lap and within the last stretch. Maka liked the idea of knocking the boys down another peg, so when there were only 5 feet left, she did a double-front-handspring to the finish. She landed in cat's stance and finished en pointe. Kid and Black*Star came in right after her, and the others finished about a minute after. During the time Maka was catching her breath, and slowing it back to her usual rate, which was slightly slower than normal, as was her heart rate.

It wasn't until Patti called her name she noticed others talking about how they hoped Maka would be on their team, and it was also until then that she hadn't noticed that she was still en pointe. She hadn't moved, she stood there the entire time relaxing herself from the last of her runs, 20 miles was a lot, no matter who you were.

"Maka~," Patti singsonged, "Why are you standing you standing so funny?"

"Huh?" Maka said, looking down at herself, finally noticing her stance. "Oh, sorry 'bout that, didn't notice." Maka then did a fouette, spinning in place to meet the strong arms of Kid. She also saw the other members of the alpha team, since Kid was at her side, rather than directly now-in-front of her.

"Not on the track Maka, you'll lose balance and fall, probably scrape yourself as well." Kid said worriedly, letting go of Maka.

"I'm fine Kid, it's pavement." Maka replied, settling his mind at ease a bit.

"What was tha~t?" Patti singsonged once again.

"A fouette, I did ballet for many years, actually if there was still a ballet studio here I would still be practicing." Maka said, somewhat regretfully, she really did like ballet.

"That was really pretty Maka, is there anything else you do?" Liz asked admirably.

"I've tried tons of things, but my upbringing required me to learn a lot, and my travels also meant that when something wasn't available, I had to improvise. Over the years I have learned a substantial amount of ballet, track and cross country, gymnastics, cheerleading, tennis, soccer, swimming, equestrian sports, surfing, snow-boarding, skiing, and of course self-defense." Maka listed off.

"HAHAHA BALLET! THAT'S SUCH A SISSY THING!" Black*Star laughed, annoying Maka.

"Really now, then stand en pointe for an hour without coming back down and tell me that it was easy." Maka said

"WHAT THE HELL IS THAT? I DON'T KNOW SISSY-GIRLY-FUFU TERMINOLOGY." Black*Star replied.

"Stand like this," Maka said, going en pointe again and pointing at her feet. Black*Star looked at her stance in wonder, she was so balanced, he had to admit that she must be disciplined, not many could do that.

Soul stared at her as well, her legs seeming even longer and more toned than they were before. Now that he was closer he could also admire her physique better. He was the kind of man to appreciate fit girls, he didn't necessarily have a type, but Maka... she was _definitely_ at _least_ a seven from one to ten.

"OKAY!" Black*Star said, attempting to do so, but lasting for less than a second before his ankle gave in, making his stance go back down to cat's stance. His toes weren't even holding him like they should.

"Exactly. By the way, there are male ballerinas you know." Black*Star busted out laughing.

"HAHAHAHA! MUST BE ONE BUTCH-LOOKING GIRL, BECAUSE NO GUY IN THEIR RIGHT MIND WOULD DO BALLET!"

"You just tried to." Maka laughed, and the others tried to hold theirs in.

* * *

After a bit more of back and forth between Maka and Black*Star, they called a truce of agreeing to disagree. Maka was then called over by Stein, Sid and Nygus, which had told her that she had the rest of the day to do whatever training she desired as they figured out what to do about her placement.

Little did Maka know, what she chose to do would determine her group.

She went straight to the large area of dirt field, a multi-purpose area of sorts. There, Maka used the bars set up from before to practice her gymnastics. She used the uneven double bars to propel herself back and forth between the bars, doing stunts and flips in the air before grabbing on to the other bars.

The cool air kissed Maka's cheeks, making them turn a light rosy color. One would think it was from the heat from exerting herself, but that would have to mean she was exerting herself.

A small crowd gathered around in amazement, mainly guys. Maka's flexibility was a turn-on, and to the girls, something to be envied. Others simply watched in hopes she would be the new addition to their team, someone to pull them up in rank.

Maka felt their stares, but paid no mind, and didn't care much about their convictions of her. She would only have to work with them during missions and class, and then she would deal with whomever she had to and nothing more. Maka was used to the solitude of being a hybrid, let alone a vampire. She knew how to deal with others when called for and then revert back to her rather introverted self. They were humans that would only serve in furthering her abilities, and the DWMA was basically a menu that told her what and where her next meal was.

Maka snapped herself out of her cynical and pessimistic thoughts, it really just was the vampire part of her talking. She cared, she really did want relationships with people, at least, her human side did.

She let go of the bars, the falling sensation not bothering her one bit as she landed as any gymnast would, but without a mat. Landing as such worried some of the students, a fall like that would surely break their ankles, but Maka, of course, was unharmed.

Maka glanced to the side at the small crowd before walking away to the weapons storage, which was connected to the side of the dojo. She had full access to the area, but none of the students knew, nevertheless, they left it alone, figuring that it didn't concern them.

The forest-eyed girl felt as if she walked in to her own sort of wonderland. The area showcased weapons of all kinds, mainly used for practice sparing between weaponless meisters. One wall was lined entirely with throwing weapons, ranging from chakrams to javelins and everything in between.

The opposite wall held non-throwing ranged weapons, handguns, shotguns, sniper rifles, bazookas, gizmos and gadgets; she just wanted to go to the range with a wagon of weapons in tow, spending all day there, never coming out. Next to the firearms were bows and arrows, and in the adjacent wall at the end, next to the arrows in their respective quivers, was the poison-potion machine, in which one could order them with special access.

Maka eyed the machine carefully, wondering why such a thing would be with practice weapons, but then recalled that all weapons were stored together. Weaponless meisters like her used these weapons during warfare and such as well, not just practice.

As Maka walked down the room, she passed row after row of shelves, filled with weapons and armor and gadgets and gizmos galore. Each row was neatly organized and spanned across the room, leaving space at the ends for the walls and aisles to walk through. It was like a library, but some shelves were slanted and all held weapons instead of books.

Maka strolled through the rows, admiring the weapons. Many she had experience with and recognized, but there were the occasional weapons she came across and had no clue what they were, reading the digital catalog found along the shelves to learn more about them, history, usage, and stats.

She hadn't been looking for any particular weapon, but she then reached the back wall, deepest into the weapons room. She had only spent about twenty minutes or so in there, which wasn't much time considering that the entirety of P.E. lasted three hours.

Each of the 5 academic classes were 40 minutes, and a lunch of 45 minutes, to ensure the student's readiness for P.E., along with the three hours of P.E. equaled the just-over seven hour day, from seven to five past two. The exception was that the first week was pushed later, to get more students out of vacation-mode and back into the swing of things.

There it was, laid beautifully in the center, above the rest: its sharp edge curving up, the design of the blade not at all intricate, but rather foreboding of certain death to those who met the deadly blade. The display light glinted off the sharp edge, accentuating its deadly sharpness. The red zig-zag design on the blade only further accented both its danger and beauty, captivating Maka. Her gaze loomed over the scythe; she was so entranced she hadn't noticed the boy standing a few feet behind her, watching her admire the scythe.

Maka was so entranced by the scythe, the boy could tell without seeing her face that she hadn't noticed his presence.

_It's been so long since I last held one. Mama would be so disappointed if I didn't train with it and become an even greater scythe meister. _Maka thought.

"Scythe fetish?" Someone whispered in Maka's ear. She whirled around, extending her foot to knock down Soul, making him land flat-on-his-ass, and end up laying down on the floor, looking up at Maka. Soul laughed.

"I guess sneaking up on you isn't a good idea." He said with a smirk on his face.

"Yeah, it's not." Maka said, holding out a hand to Soul to help him up. He took it and Maka hoisted him up; he had to say, he was surprised by her strength. She helped him up like he weighed nothing.

"Sorry about that." They both said simultaneously. There was a small pause before Soul spoke.

"You do know you're not supposed to be here, right?"

Maka gave a knowing smile, "That's actually not true, I'm technically a staff member here. I have access to this area, even a staff ID. _You_ on the other hand, are not supposed to be in here, but since you're here with a staff member, you're technically allowed as long as I accept it." She finished with a light laugh.

Soul chuckled, "Thank you, Ms. Albarn."

"Ugh. I hate my last name, I'd rather you call me bookworm." Maka replied, turning once again to look at the scythe.

Soul then got an idea, "But that's so rude, _Ms. Albarn_." Soul teased

"Ugh. I shouldn't have said anything." Maka replied, walking up to the shelf, looking up to find that she was a little short, much to her dismay.

"Why does the scythe have to be so high up?" Maka complained after taking a few step back, pouting and biting her lip.

"You really do like scythes?" Soul asked

"I don't lie about those types of things, no reason to... Besides, Mama made Papa a Deathscythe, and Papa was a scythe. I guess I just wanted to follow in her footsteps a little bit. They really are beautiful weapons; it feels like forever since I've trained with one though." Maka said, getting a dreamy, far off look in her eye.

"Don't tell me I was right about the scythe fetish, 'cause that's just creepy. I don't need some flat-chested bookworm hitting on me now." Soul teased in his 'cool guy' tone of voice.

"MAKAAA CHOP!" Maka screamed, smashing one of the older tomes about one of the weapons against his head.

"Damnit woman! It was a joke, not a dick, so don't take it so hard." Soul complained, groaning in pain.

"Want to make it two? I don't think anyone has ever not needed medical attention after two." Maka said evilly.

"No." Was Soul's quick reply.

Maka eyed the room silently, and noticed that there were panels in the wall in which sword were slid into to be hung, their sheathes hanging off the hilts. These were to be organized for later and put into their old spots, as they were used and never put back, or sometimes the sheathes would be upgraded to automatically sharpen the blade when unsheathing. While the sheathes were being upgraded, there had to be somewhere to put the swords.

She noticed that to either side of the scythe were these panels, and she got an idea. She didn't want anyone's help, she was too stubborn. Maka pulled out two one-edged ninja swords and stabbed them back into the wall in different spots.

Soul eyed her motions with curiosity as she tested the security of the swords in the wall. Once Maka decided they were sturdy enough, she hopped off the floor and onto one, placed about three feet off the ground. Maka gripped on the handle of the other sword, which she had placed up higher.

It was then Soul noticed what she was doing.

"Hey bookworm! What the hell do you think you're doing! You're going to fall and get hurt, there's no way those hilts will hold you and the scythe up." Soul said worriedly

"Calm your nips, I'm fine and if I fall, you're here. If you can't catch me, well, c'est la vie." Maka said simply.

Soul stood watching Maka, making sure that when she did fall, that he was going to catch her. She was stubborn, he could tell, but he just didn't want to see her get injured if he could have helped it.

Maka grabbed the scythe's handle and swung it, hitting the panel on the adjacent wall with the scythe's blade. The end of the handle was now short enough for Maka to grab from the ground.

"Maaaaakaaaaaa! Daddy heard his little angel is now a student and wanted to see his little darling princess!" Spirit said barging into the weapons room.

Spirit made it all the way to the back in a second, where he had a feeling Maka would be admiring a certain weapon.

Spirit's sudden outburst caused Maka to jump, and even though she landed on the hilt and was extremely light, gravity decided to let her fall. Soul noticed the hilt give way and ran over ready to catch her. Spirit stood there babbling about his darling daughter like an idiot too much to notice.

That was, until Soul caught her petite frame in his toned arms, Maka still having her eyes closed waiting for impact. Soul laughed and Maka's eyes snapped open; she knew Soul caught her but was actually waiting for Spirit to explode. Just as it seemed he wouldn't explode, Maka snapped her eyes open to a miffed Spirit.

"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING? GET YOUR HANDS OFF MY PRECIOUS LITTLE DARLING ANGEL! MAKA!" Spirit cried like a baby. If they weren't in a sound-proof room and in the back Maka would be worried about drawing a crowd.

"What are you talking about old man? Your stupid antics scared her half to death and caused her to fall when she was trying to balance." Soul replied, he knew Spirit was sensitive about his daughter and a little crybaby as well when she came into conversation. He witnessed Stein destroy many of his good just-got-laid moods by bringing up 'Maka-chan'.

Soul gently put Maka down, making sure she had her footing first. He looked at Spirit most of the time while doing this, but when he made sure Maka had her footing he glanced at her. There was something about the look in her eyes as she looked directly at Spirit; there was a fire burning brightly, ready to raise hell.

"YOU STUPID OCTOPUS HEAD! WHY WAS MY MAKA ON THE HILTS INSTEAD OF BEING HELPED BY YOU! YOU'RE A MAN, AREN'T YOU?!"

"MAKAAA CHOP!" Maka slammed the tome she had wielded on Soul earlier onto Spirit's head.

"Don't waste your breath on me, there's no way I'll ever consider you my father." Maka said coldly. Soul was surprised by her sudden change of attitude, she was usually so bright and cheery. He almost felt sorry for the old man.

Almost.

"Why does Maka-chan hate her papa so much?! PAPA LOVES HIS DARLING MAKA! DON'T HATE ME MAKA! PAPA LOVES YOU AND MAMA BOTH SO MUCH!" Spirit wailed, much to Maka's annoyance.

"As far as I'm concerned, my father died along with any memory I have of a loving family. He was a great man and shall always be remembered in highest regard, unlike the shell that is left of him." Maka replied even more coldly, if that was possible. Now Soul felt bad for the man as Maka took hold of the scythe handle and pulled out the scythe, walking out the room with Soul following her, leaving nothing but his own childish wails to accompany him.

Maka strolled over to the practice dummies at one end of the field while spinning the scythe casually, taking a good look at what material the dummies were made of. The first layer was removable padding, for unarmed combat practice. Maka quickly removed the padding on the dummy and took a good look at the dummy in front of her, a bit worse for wear.

The second layer was solid wood, which Maka guessed to be about three inches thick, followed by a shock-absorbing ballistics gel, and then solid concrete. She stepped back from the dummy, distancing herself about ten feet away. She twirled the scythe around expertly, and once she felt good with it, tossed it like a baton once in the air, catching it masterfully.

She quickly regained the feel of a scythe, as Soul could see from the edge of the field. He watched her go through stances with the scythe, first one by one, and then making combos. She twirled the handle around her neck and spun around, jabbing the air with the handle and slicing it with the blade. Soul watched her spin the blade which was modeled after him. He had to wonder if she had noticed, because she seemed so entranced by the scythe.

"So she got her hands on it, huh?" Soul turned around to see Kid smiling at Maka. Liz and Patti behind him, and Black*Star and Tsubaki off to the other side of Kid. Their eyes were fixated on Maka, all in amazement and wonder.

Soul raised an eyebrow, "I'm guessing you've seen her practice somewhere before?"

Kid chuckled, "No, not practice. We've crossed paths before, but I have only ever seen her wield it in battle once before. What she's doing is familiarizing herself with the scythe. Those things she could do in her sleep. I wonder why she's even bothering."

Liz and Patti glanced at Kid, "Since when did you go on missions without us?" Liz asked, suspicious of Kid's little commentary.

"Reaps, not missions. She just happened to be near those few times as well." Kid replied, his answer seeming to satisfy both of his weapons.

Just then, Maka went into a flurry of strikes and blocks. Each flowing into one another like the notes of the melody of a song. Her movements were so agile that they were blurred as she struck the dummy with multiple blows, easily carving the scythe's blade in and out of the wood. A large mass of the wood fell off in one strike, attracting some more attention to Maka. While the wood was worn at the top, it was still sturdy, and nobody made it clean through in one blow with a regular weapon before.

Students crowded behind the Alphas of the Spartoi, watching Maka train and strike the dummy's arm with the handle, effectively cracking the wood and opening it so that the bottom half hung off the top like a hinge.

* * *

Maka truly felt like she was one with the scythe, it was simply an extension of herself now. Where she would punch, the scythe jabbed, and where she would strike, the scythe slashed. It was almost as if it had a mind of its own, but she remembered that it wasn't possible and that it was only herself, the lonely meister.

_It sucks being weaponless. At least Stein can partner up if he needs to; I'm basically useless. I'll never make a deathscythe, nor will I be of great use in battle. _

_I'm hopeless._

Maka's training was time for her to think. It always felt as if the world stood still and time slowed to a stop, if only for a moment. Her vampire instincts told her she liked the training, the feel of the hunt without really hunting, it was a rush to her. It was fun.

But there were moments like these that she would think too hard and not let go, her analytical side would win her mind, and she would try to figure out where she belonged, only to think that she didn't. It was times like these were there was black and white, and she was slate grey. Neither black nor white, and that hint of blue made her too different to truly belong, even in an in-between.

Her thoughts quickly fueled her anger, resentment, and sorrow. When she went to that dark place in her mind, she would usually find the inner vampire, waiting for her, waiting to be unchained from its thorny prison behind the rosebush.

**_Maka, don't you get it now? You and me, we, us, we're different from everyone else. We may be accepted by either side, but we are still never going to fully belong to neither light nor shadow, we are neither day nor night. You are the dawn, and I am the dusk. You begin the light when darkness ends, and I begin the darkness where the light ends. Keep that in mind; we are two sides of the same coin, a penny in a world full of_ _nickels_.** _**  
**_

Maka stopped listening to her vampire self, it just fed her negative and pessimistic thoughts, but somewhere deep, deep down, she knew that it had gotten to her. And in that moment, the clear skies of joy in her mind turned to a stormy gray.

Maka's outer movements matched her emotions, like the calm before a storm, Maka stopped the blade just before the toe (tip of the scythe) hit the neck. She kept that pose, staying ever still, her breathing almost non-existent, her what felt like mere seconds to her. In reality, she kept it for five minutes. Never moving a muscle other than her beating heart and barely moving chest. It was this calm that Maka had before exploding that few had lived to see...

It terrified and excited her all at once.

* * *

Soul watched Maka carefully, narrowing his eyes to block out the rays that shone too brightly for him to see her well. Kid could tell that there was something wrong; what, he did not know. Liz and Patti were still behind Kid, each looking out at Maka carefully, as if they were two children peering around a corner to see 'Santa' put their gifts under a tree. Black*Star had his arms crossed in front of his chest, and huffed out, annoyed.

"WELL, GET ON WITH IT MAKA!" He screamed. After the second movement of her not moving passed, black*Star continued to speak.

"WHAT THE HELL? WHY ISN'T SHE MOVING?" Black*Star asked, looking to Kid for an answer. Kid peered at Maka for a moment, as if trying to decipher some ancient text, and though he was calm, his eyes gave a flicker of worry.

"Something is wrong... terribly wrong. What? I do not know. All I know is that her soul is calm, and not in a good way. When I peered in, it was like a storm was brewing, that's the only feeling I can describe. She's trying to take hold of the reins, but it seems like her inner thoughts are conflicting." Kid said.

"Someone should go talk to her." Tsubaki said, worrying about her knew friend's mood. Soul shook his head.

"No. Give her space; its not cool to disturb her if she's trying to keep calm. Let her cool down first." Soul said, though it sounded more like a command than an opinion. Kid nodded once to Soul to show he listened, and he thought about it. He swore he could see understanding in Soul's eyes, a sort of empathy that went beyond just knowing how someone felt. _It's like they resonated._

Kid pushed it to the back of his head, Maka's condition right now is what mattered. Although, he knew Soul was probably most level headed, and while his reasoning wasn't strong, his instinct was one that Kid would trust with his life. Soul tended to think things through and Kid believed in his best friend's intuition.

"Soul's right. Give Maka her space, and give her time to breathe." Kid commanded, and when he gave a command, no one dared to disobey.

They waited for two and a half more minutes. Both eyes of blood diamond and amber focused on the girl with the scythe, waiting for movement, any movement, just enough to know that she hadn't turned to stone. All that was heard were the faint whispers of students gossip, and the wind slowly blowing past the students' ears.

The wind picked up followed by the blinding glint of light, and the sound of the clang of metal against something hard, and then, dead silence.

* * *

Maka didn't notice the silence, instead, her senses heightened greatly, and yet she paid no mind to the feel of the students' eyes on her. She just stood, holding the toe of the scythe to the neck of the dummy. For a moment, Maka felt satisfaction, pretending it to be the real neck of a kishin, but her satisfaction lasted only a second before she realized it wasn't again. It hadn't fazed her though, not enough to make her do anything but blink.

She could hear the birds chirping in the forest, the wind pick up and slow down, like the breathing of a sleeping child, and she vaguely felt the warmth of the sun on her back. On any other occasion, she would have put the scythe down, but for some reason staying in this position gave her some time to think, a sense of self control.

Maka listened to the wind, deciding it had the most calming effect on her. She listened to the wind pick up and whistle in her ears, drowning out all other sound. Maka visualized the wind like ocean waves, ebbing and flowing. As the sound of wind died down once more to a quiet breeze, Maka inhaled deeply, readying herself.

Maka could feel the change of wind start to come, the breeze blew just a bit harder, building up to the whip of wind that started the storm. She could hear the birds go silent, the wind become calm once more, and the feeling of eery calm took over.

She was anticipating the beginning of the storm, the storm that was building within her and ironically seeming to be manifesting into the world around her. She knew it wasn't really her who was causing it, but for a moment, just a moment it seemed as if she was one with the nature around her. She anticipated the wind's patterns, and the way the clouds blocked the sun, just for it to re-appear as she had expected. She could feel her thoughts become glum as the sky above turned gray, melancholy and silently announcing the storm that was foreseen to come later, in the night, but seemed to arrive early.

And just as the wind picked up into one strong whip, she turned with the scythe and struck the dummy, the blade making the terrible screech of metal against stone. The shock reverberated through the hum of the metal handle as she let go.

And then, silence.

The strike lodged the scythe in the center of the dummy, stuck in the stone for all to see as she dropped her arm.

Soul watched the scene go by in what felt like the blink of an eye. Maka's movement so fluid that even he wasn't sure as to what happened, until she dropped her hand, leaving the scythe lodged in the dummy. Everyone was as silent as he was, and more or less, all expressions were of shock or worry.

Kid was the first to snap out of this state of shock. He wasn't necessarily used to it, but he understood what had ensued. The disturbance in Maka's soul was the impulse that came from the 'other' Maka, as they sometimes called the full vampyric form of Maka. He hadn't understood, however, why after her soul balanced once again only to be wrecked with emotion once more.

Kid could pick out only two or three of Maka's swirling emotions, he just knew it wasn't something she should dwell on much longer. His face must have given something away, or Soul could read minds, which Kid sometimes actually did wonder if he could; because he was walking up to Maka at that moment.

Many students looked wide-eyed at Soul, who was disobeying a direct order, but then again, he was Soul. Kid was always a little lenient with his best friend, and always listened to his opinion, valuing it greatly. Soul was known as Kid's guard dog, who would take a bullet for him if needed, but it wasn't one-sided. Kid would easily take the heat for Soul to keep him on track and they had each other's backs. So if Soul figured now was the time to intervene, then Kid would let him.

"Let him go and talk to her, he might just know what he's doing." Kid joked.

Soul walked straight over to Maka as he saw Kid's face, deciding perhaps it was best to not leave the OCD guy with a potential crier. He would probably tell her to cry one tear from each side at the same time. It had gotten that bad before, because when Kid was worried, his OCD tendencies were usually stronger, which made him more insensitive to others. Funny thing was, Soul was sometimes the more sensitive one and had some experience in letting the nicer girls down easy.

Maka pulled out the scythe, not even bothering to notice Soul's presence a mere ten feet away. It was a sudden yank, which made Soul wonder exactly how far lodged into the stone she got it. He received his answer when he saw that at least five inches of the scythe was white with the powder of broken stone.

"Yes?" Maka asked.

Soul turned his head back to Maka, who was holding the scythe behind her neck, relaxed in posture but obviously not so relaxed on the inside. Soul didn't know how he knew, he just did.

"You okay? I've never seen someone break stone with no resonance, let alone a regular weapon." Soul said coolly, he didn't want to aggravate her more than she already had been today.

"Yeah, I was just taking a breather and thinking before I hit the target. You know, generate energy and all that."

"You know lying's not cool."

"That easy to tell, huh?" Maka said glumly.

"Yeah, now what was it really?" Soul asked, but it came out more like a half-command.

"I was thinking, but my anger got the best of me and I just hit the target on impulse. I'd rather not get into specifics if that's okay with you."

"It's cool." he said as Maka walked past him and to the weapons room. Soul grabbed the scythe though and tugged on it as Maka walked by, pulling it out of her grasp

"I'll get that for you, no need to repeat the almost-accident you had in there earlier short-stack." Soul joked lightheartedly.

"It's not my fault that the walls in the weapons room run high, and I'm actually average height, for your information." Maka retorted, once again putting her facade of a happy girl who had just lost her cool for a moment. Completely normal, as if nothing happened. It seemed to shock everyone how quickly she could revert back to her happy self, but at least Kid and Soul could both tell Maka was still getting over what had just happened, whatever it was. It also seemed that other members of the alpha team could tell as well, although perhaps more from their friends' actions than from Maka's.

"Average height for a smurf, maybe."

"Says the one albino in the world who can tan. Wait, don't tell me its a spray-on tan..." Maka joked. She seemed to really bounce back quick, but Soul kept wary of what had just occurred as he continued his banter with her, and Soul actually didn't mind her pointing out his looks.

Usually, he would be told he looks like the abominable snowman or some other fierce-creature, reminding him of how he didn't fit in with everyone else. He once even made a baby cry when he smiled, true story.

This time was different however, she seemed to be able to joke around with him and not bother him like most did. He could honestly say that more light teasing like that could probably get him to laugh at himself, rather than the usual comments he got from those who first laid eyes on him, which pissed him off to no end.

"You're just jealous because an albino is capable of getting a better tan than you, Casper." Soul replied

"I'm pale because I take good care of my skin, that and I'm a night person, or at least, was a night person." Maka said, her answer piquing Soul's curiosity.

"How exactly does a teenage girl become a night person? Don't girls like sunlight and pretty flowers in the meadow and rainbows and girly shit?" Soul inquired, finding no better way to ask the question, he just got straight to the point.

"I just have had a schedule that requires me to be more active at night, and it's less stress to do things later on because everyone else is usually home at that time. First, sunlight is okay, but moonlight is nicer, calmer, and doesn't give one skin cancer. Second, there are beautiful flowers that only bloom at night as well, those are my favorite. Third, rainbows suck." Maka said matter-of-factly, making Soul give a chuckle as Maka entered the passcode to the door to the weapons room.

Spirit was still in his emo corner, with a little Maka doll, talking quietly to what Soul assumed, or rather hoped, was the doll. Maka paid no mind as she walked with him over to the back wall and Soul put the scythe back in its proper place.

"Your dad has a miniature doll of you? That's creepy." Soul said, loud enough for Spirit to hear, but he honestly didn't care at the moment.

"Yeah, don't remind me. I want to rip that mini-me to shreds, but if I do, he'll resort back to bugging me, rather than mini-me over there." Maka replied, annoyed and worn out by Spirit's antics.

* * *

Maka and Soul walked out of the weapons room, talking and Maka occasionally laughing as Soul chuckled. It was a sight that drove Spirit further into depression. He could make her laugh and bring a smile that Spirit couldn't even if he wore a clown suit.

_Wait, Maka hates clowns. Not afraid of, but hates._ Spirit remembered.

But that was beside the point. He was into a further depression than when he last saw her fully transformed. He hated that his little girl had to grow up, that she never really got a childhood, and he and Kami both were to blame, but he felt Kami wouldn't have done what she did if he never made his stupid mistakes. Even so, she was still a child in some ways, she never experienced love, or at least he hoped not; he hadn't seen his daughter in years, even when she was in Death City. That or he was too inebriated to remember it.

Point is, he hated to face the facts, his little girl was growing up.

* * *

"Hey Maka, are you okay?" Kid said, jogging up to Maka and Soul.

"I'm fine, just a lot on my mind." Maka said cryptically.

"Okay, if you want to talk about it then-"

"I don't." Maka said firmly, not liking the idea of talking about her feelings, she wasn't one to open up easily. The small scowl that painted her features proved it.

Kid shrunk back, not saying anything else. Maka's face softened considerably, and she instantly felt guilty.

"Sorry Kid, that was uncalled for. I shouldn't take out any of my anger on you." Maka said, her head down.

Kid pulled her over to him, which she didn't protest to as he continued to hold her in his arms, comforting her as she took cover from the watching eyes of the world, if only for a moment.

Soul felt like a third wheel at the moment, Kid interrupted a conversation that he was thoroughly enjoying, mainly because he thought Maka's laugh and reactions were cute, especially when he teased her.

_Wait a minute, did I just... call her cute? Was I seriously getting along with a girl who not only showed me up, but saw me as a person? She doesn't squeal when I walk by, nor does she send love letters, and the way she handled that scythe, almost makes me wish-_

_Whoa there! Back up soul. Think. Or don't, thinking is what got you here. Just be glad she's cool around you and not being another one of them. Enjoy it for now, because you have no idea how long that'll last._

Soul was lucky that he kept an uninterested expression throughout his reflection on Maka, and found that he hadn't missed a thing as Maka and Kid pulled apart, making him wonder just how long he blanked out.

Maka heard everything around her when she was staying still, and she truly wanted to thank Soul for understanding, and probably being the only one who thought of leaving her alone, but she couldn't. It was impossible for any human to hear a conversation that far away held in that tone of voice.

* * *

The rest of PE was spent with most students lounging and relaxing their sole muscles, with the exception of Maka, Black*Star, Ox Ford, and Soul. Of course, the other students also kept wary of the odd newcomer in their minds, but none mentioned what had taken place, deciding they were just being silly and she was nervous was all.

Maka was still training throughout the rest of the period so she could get her mind off of things, and in the process she provoked Black*Star and Ox to keep training because they didn't want to be out-shined by her. Black*Star reasoned that if he hadn't surpassed God yet, then he would be as close as it could just wanted higher marks than her in PE, still miffed that she was able to master a test he hadn't. Soul was busy being lazy as Maka decided she wanted a partner to train with, and asked Soul because Black*Star was too obnoxious when he fought. She also said that despite the near-three minute time it took for her to knock him out, it would have been much longer without it, and that he was well-prepared, something one would need in helping her train.

He was hesitant at first, knowing that being asked to participate in an one-on-one activity was usually how he turned people into fan-girls. Maka sensed hesitation, but the reason for it just flew right over her head.

"Its just practice. If it helps, I solemnly swear not to introduce any new books to you." Maka joked, raising her right hand.

Soul picked himself off the ground where he had been laying lazily and grabbed the padded gloves boxers would punch against. When Soul was ready, he nodded to Maka.

The first thing she did was tell him to raise the glove and brace for a kick. He raised it a little, to which she laughed and fixed it to the height she wanted, it lined up to as high as the base of his neck. He held it to the side, just in case Maka missed.

She didn't.

She hit the gloves with such force he had slid a little in the dirt, impressive, even for a kick. Soul steadied himself again just before Maka punched it, also generating great force. For someone her size, she was strong.

"Now that I think about it," Maka said, continuing it hit the gloves relentlessly, "its a good thing you're a weapon. You're more stable and can take more damage than a meister of your level."

She continued to hit and kick the gloves, Soul surprised that she still had enough energy after all that happened for her in PE. The girl ran 20 miles, did some gymnastics, trained with a scythe and broke solid concrete, and then was still able to hit and punch this hard? She had to be insane.

_ Oh yeah, black blood._ Soul thought.

* * *

When study hall rolled around, most just relaxed around the school, and the DWMA understood that the students needed downtime, especially after some killer training they had after the run. After the run, they had to do two other intermediate activities or one hard one. The two intermediate was chosen by most, mainly so that they could be finished before class was halfway over.

Maka also lounged around, just now finding it appropriate for a little down time. It didn't last long though, because Stein came out with Sid and Nygus behind him, telling Maka that she was so versatile, it was hard to place her in any team. The teams they narrowed it down to were going to have to decide by voting.

Maka felt like she was a racehorse at auction, and any of the ten teams interested in having an additional member could have her as long as they got along. It was like being adopted, or so Maka thought.

Five teams came by, and Maka more or less got along with most teams. She had ruled out Ox's team however, because he just seemed like the nosy kind, and she didn't like that it seemed he felt threatened by her. She told Stein this when he asked if any one group of the three that actually showed up stood out to her. Otherwise, the other two weren't that interesting. She was told no to worry by Kid, who was also there when she was talking to Stein, she had all week to decide, and other teams had all week to decide to show up or not.

Truth was, he was thinking about whether or not Maka could join the Alpha team, she had beat both Soul and Black*Star and Tsubaki, fair and square. But for a new member to join as an Alpha? That was unheard of, and the Alphas existed for two purposes: one, they headed the student's faction of the all-out attacks, and two, they all commanded other groups within the student faction, not just spartoi.

The second part is what had his hands tied. He was almost certain no one would let Maka be a leader of a student faction, even with the increasing number of students each year. Still, the thought hadn't completely left his mind.

* * *

The school day was almost over and a bell sounded to let students know that there were only five minutes left of the day.

Maka and Kid walked out of the Teacher's lounge, where they had been talking about Maka's placement. The two teens were both left uncomfortable about the matter; Maka because of the way she felt like an object, and Kid because of that _and_ some foreign emotions of possessiveness and jealousy.

Kid wasn't the kind to be either, letting his partners be free as long as it was in reason and of no harm to them. There was that one time Patti started dating another student known for being a womanizer, but Kid only threatened to "sever his manhood" if he hurt Patti, not because he was jealous, but because he cared.

The two walked in complete silence, both happy that it stayed that way, not wanting to bring up the subject. It must have been obvious from the looks on their faces, because when they met their friends in the courtyard in front of the school, they stayed silent for a moment, deciding on whether or not to ask about them.

Black*Star, however, was too dense to notice anything. "WHY THE HELL IS EVERYONE SO GLOOMY?! THEY SAY A STORM IS BREWING AND HONESTLY I WANT TO ENJOY IT! LET'S ALL GO OUT AND PARTY!"

They all turned their heads to look at Black*Star, each thinking about it for a second.

"That actually doesn't sound like a bad idea." Soul said, grinning.

"I don't know, the storm's supposed to get really bad." Kid said worriedly.

"Oh come on Kiddo!" Liz said, trying to get him to ease up a bit. "Or maybe you're counting on the storm, who knows? Maybe you and Maka are waiting for when the lights go out." Liz said with a raised eyebrow, grinning.

"No! It's not like that at all!" Kid said, waving his hands around and panicking.

"Kid! Calm down before you hit me in the face." Maka commanded Kid obeying quickly. Her voice was more mature sounding at the moment, and she noted her vampire side was coming out more and more each day, and that it would show in everyday things, such as her speech. Everyone, even Kid stared at her, not used to that tone of voice, nor imagining it coming from Maka.

"Woah! How'd you learn to sound like that Maka~! It was kind of scary, but I like it." Patty half- singsonged.

"Yeah, Maka. That sounded like Kid when he goes all 'reaper' and gets scary." Liz added.

* * *

_The first time Kid had sounded like that he connected the first line of Sanzu, extremely pissed, seeing both she and her sister hurt and on the ground in a pool of their collective blood, a kishin hovering over them. The last thing she saw before she lacked out were shadow-like tendrils around him._

_The last thing she heard was even scarier. **"I can see your pitiful soul. You're a coward and an incompetent, incapable of doing anything on your own. You sought power and strayed off to the path of evil, praying to an impotent god for something you couldn't achieve yourself. You are not worthy of the lowest pits of Hell!"**_

* * *

"It was the same voice mama used with papa to get him out of his stupid moments, which were quite often. I guess I learned something from her after all." Maka said shrugging, her voice never betraying her, never showing any emotion other those expected in casual conversation.

Everyone nodded, seemingly accepting the answer, but everyone felt that there was more to it, even Black*Star, who was as dense as it gets.

"Alright then, Kiddo, since you insist its not like that~, then let's all go out and party!" Patty reasoned, and of course, Kid was stupid enough to fall for it.

"Alright then, but only because you all are perverted and assume that because Maka and I are close that we're in a relationship." Kid replied

"ALRIGHT THEN! LET'S GET THIS PARTY STARTED!" Black*Star shouted.

"Um, Black*Star, where is this 'party' going to be exactly?" Tsubaki questioned, and Black*Star immediately got off his partying mood. He grumbled a string of curses, forgetting that Black*Star wasn't allowed to throw a party in the student apartments because last time he ended up disturbing everyone and broke a hole in the roof.

"If you guys are interested," Maka said "there's a nightclub that we could go to on East Crescent Street. Its always open and it's pretty cool. The DJ picks great songs, not always mainstream or the newest thing."

"And how the hell do you know that?" Soul asked incredulously. No one believed that little-miss pigtails would go to a nightclub, let alone know where a good one was.

"Well I go from time to time for the music, they don't care to card minors either. I noticed that when some stupid sixteen year old couple were so wasted that they started screwing in the bathroom, but that was on a busy night. Tonight shouldn't be so bad, being Monday."

"ALRIGHT THEN! LET'S GO TO THE CLUB!" Black*Star shouted loudly, the others thanking death that none of the staff heard him over the equally as loud bell.


	5. Chapter 5: The 1st Night at Masquerade

BTW: kishin=pre-kishin=kishin egg in this story, I'm too lazy to use proper terms, you'll know when an actual KISHIN comes along instead of a pre-kishin... if I decide to bring one in.

I'm probably going to use KISHEN instead of Kishins for plural, like man becomes men. I just like the way it sounds.

I hope you enjoyed my last chapter... I'm also sorry it took forever but I kind of just wing this stuff, and then i have it planned out only in my head . See I just type in the copy and paste section and sometimes if I'm stupid enough not to see if I'm connected onto, let's say the school WiFi for example, then I hit save... ugh. I did that last week and I was so close to posting, but then that happens and I wanted to through my laptop on the floor as hard as I could and shatter it... not that I did. Anyways, that set me back a week.

Enough of explaining my stupidity... enjoy the chapter!

* * *

The group walked to the Shibusen apartments, since all except for Kid, Liz, and Patti stayed there. Liz and Patti hadn't worried though, since they had some clothes at Tsubaki and Black*Star's apartment, and Kid at Soul's. They all parted when in the elevator, Maka, Soul and Kid going to the top (fourth) floor, and the other four on the third.

"Wait, you live on the fourth floor?" Soul asked Maka, wondering why he never sa lookew her, not even once.

"Yeah, apartment four-fourteen. Just down the hall." Maka said simply.

"And how have I not seen you around?" Soul replied, interested in his new-found neighbor.

"Different halls?" Maka asked, not sure about he answer herself. She had seen other students before.

"No, he's four-thirteen." Kid supplied with a smile, holding back a laugh.

"Hmm, well I guess its just the difference in our schedules that led us to not meet up until today." Maka said, turning her back to them as she looked for her keys in her bag and opened the door.

"Guess so." Soul said, mirroring Maka's actions across the hall.

"Alright, well we're all meeting in the main lobby at 5, right?" Maka asked, turning her knob and opening her door.

"Yeah, just don't take too long, princess." Kid joked

"Shut up Kid!" Maka said, closing her door behind her.

Maka looked at her clock, she had two hours, since the group decided to take half an hour to walk around, and Maka had knocked out Black*Star when he pointed out her chest size, or lack thereof. Maka made no comment, simply hitting him unconscious for ten whole minutes.

She glanced around the apartment to find everything neat and tidy, but not perfectly symmetrical as she thought Kid would have it. She figured he heeded her warning and had maids clean once a week, instead of doing it himself like he originally insisted. Thank Death, or she would have probably spent an hour and forty-five minutes rearranging her apartment instead of getting ready.

Maka decided a nice shower would do her well, and went into her room. She had her suitcases from her travels in the corner, along with a few boxes from the estate in Japan. She hadn't had much specifically to herself, and unpacking could be left for before bed, she decided.

She skipped over to her laptop, sitting on the metal-and-glass desk she had by the window, and clicked on her Spotify. She enjoyed some music as she got ready, it put her into a good mood and her mind at ease. (This is the English translation listen to the Fandub on youtube by geekyfandubs)

_~I'm falling down into my shadow_

_Gasping into every breath,_

_As I await the deadly night~_

Maka sang along to the lyrics, knowing them better than she knew herself, better than anything else, really. She twirled to her closet and opened the doors, walking in and grabbing her bath robe.

_~So scary, but you can't give into this_

_Fear of pumpkin carriages_

_'Cause all the witches see it in your eyes~_

She opened the door to the bathroom, oddly placed between her room and the guest room, and turned on the shower, making steam build up in the bathroom. She stripped down, as she left the door to her room from the bathroom opened, listening to the music, singing along with her hauntingly beautiful voice, or so her neighbors thought.

_~See you in your dreams_

_Your nightmares too_

_ that's where I'll find you~_

She squeezed shampoo into her hand and started lathering.

_~Fairy Blue it is only for you,_

_That would crush the stars_

_and put them on display_

_Black Paper Moon~_

Maka lathered her body quickly as well, excited about going to the nightclub again. She used her vampire speed to help her bathe quickly, but she did enjoy the feel of the water against her smooth, pale skin.

_~If you put your faith in me!_

_When you're lost here_

_I am...forever with your soul_

_Waiting here above you patiently,_

_Just like the shining moon.~_

She added conditioner to her hair as she rinsed off her body, enjoying the smell of strawberries invading her nose.

_~A symbol rises to the surface_

_Of the crimson sweetness that,_

_I had submerged it deep within~_

She rinsed the conditioner out her hair, letting her head rest against the cool grey slate tile. The ash blonde of her hair contrasted sharply with the deep grey color of the tile, and she took a few moments to breathe deeply, letting her stress from the day wash down the drain along with the hot water.

_~Your destiny isn't so immutable_

_Anything that you can dream,_

_Can also be the fate that you will have_

_Don't try to use deceit, on me,_

_I will not break, I won't surrender~_

She sang the lullaby-like song softly to herself, but still with heart. She took comfort in the song, it was her lullaby, the song that kept her safe and sound during thunderstorms, the rhythm of her beating heart, and the melody to her soul, or so it felt to her. It was perhaps the one thing that kept her through all her struggles, especially being as alone as she was.

_~Fairy blue, you are my everything_

_The reason I go on, in this captivity,_

_Eternally~_

She had learned from a young age just how alone she was, and took comfort in the little things in life, rather than people, who were subject to leaving her or hurting her in some way. She was used to disappointment in life, and thus never expected much of anyone, and believed that if you wanted things done, that you would have to do them yourself.

_~If you raise your voice and call for me_

_I will find you, my dear_

_Wherever you may be_

_And I will be sure to set you free from this ensnaring curse_

Her vampire side was acting up again, and this time, she let it loose. Darkness surrounded her once more and then released its grip on her, a full-formed Maka now leaning against the tile wall in place of the more petite version. It never ceased to amuse Maka how much more fuller her figure was, even though she wasn't too bad in her human form.

_There are times when no one believes in me and_

_There are times where I feel like I'm degraded_

_But even in those times,_

_Your words always echo within, my heart,_

_This is my promise~_

When she first transformed, it was even more shocking, being that Maka went from a little girl no older than two to a twenty-ish year old woman. Needless to say, Maka freaked out her father, amused her mother, intrigued Alucard, and piqued the curiosity of Dracula. She breathed deeply in once again, shaking away thoughts of her vampire world; she wasn't with them anymore, she was here, in Death City.

_~Fairy blue_

_It is only for you that I would smash the stars_

_And use them as a sign_

_To guide you~_

Maka shut off the water and wrung out her hair. Stepping on the the shower mat, she completely ignored her bathrobe in favor for her smaller towel. Maka glanced in her mirror, forgetting that she couldn't see herself in this form, at least not in a regular mirror. She didn't care though, and continued to walk into her room.

_~And any time that you're lost or afraid,_

_ or you can't see your dreams,_

_ I want you to look up_

_ And Fairy blue_

_ You are my everything_

_ The reason that I live~_

She strolled into her open closet, deciding on what to wear. Her shower only took a few minutes, being that she used her vampire speed, for what reason, she didn't know. Perhaps she was excited. She could feel the ache in her fangs, she wanted blood. But then why did she suggest her personal feeding ground as a hangout for her and her friends?

_~In sweet captivity, so faithfully_

_And I swear you'll never be alone~_

Green eyes scanned over multiple dresses as she contemplated her decision. Her vampire side now acted as driver, but she was still the GPS, her more human side told her what to do. Perhaps she knew that she would be craving blood, and knew that Kid's presence, along with those of her new friends, would stop her from doing anything she might regret. She was taught a thing or two by Alucard, and for a while, she was on what he called the "snatch, drink, erase" regimen. One she felt terrible about.

_~When you're lost here_

_I am...forever with your soul_

_We can make it through most anything_

_If you can just believe.~_

As Spotify went on to a Peiwei commercial, Maka became irritated at her human side for caring so much. She was a vampire; she shouldn't care as long as she didn't kill any of them, which would invoke Lord Death's wrath. Her human side may have been like a GPS, but like a GPS, it was annoying.

She snatched a party dress off the rack, partially annoyed that she wouldn't get a snack, but she knew she had problems with it. She couldn't stand the feeling her human side would get afterwards, feeling guilty. She was close to shutting off all her emotions because of it, but that wasn't right, and Maka knew that. Maka's more human side decided for both halves that they would wean themselves off of human blood again, and make sure not to tell anyone, not even Kid, what had gone on during her travels as a guardian.

Truth was, even on the way to Death City did she have a drink. Her human side had qualms about it though, and couldn't keep it down. She ended up in the airport bathroom, heaving until she almost passed out. It was five days later she had hunted a kishin successfully, and met Kid again for the first time in three months. Five long days until she was given the opportunity to come to the DWMA.

She even tried getting a drink from some random scum that was hitting on her, on her way home, that very same night, and when she got back, she actually DID pass out. It wasn't like she was going to tell Kid, or anyone else other than Blair, who walked in on her asleep on the cool tiles of her bathroom floor. Kid didn't need to know that she already had blood, let alone that she liked it. She could tell he was disgusted by her drinking blood. It was the same reason he was always different around her vampire form.

Maka examined the dress, still consumed in her thoughts rather than on the actual dress. It had now been thirty minutes since Maka had entered her apartment; time flew when one was deep in thought.

The dress was a light blue, and the bottom hem was a slope from the right knee to the middle of the left leg. It hugged Maka nicely when she was as full figured as now, but she would have to go in human form, which would mean it would be loose on her. She tossed the dress on the bed, scowling at the failed attempt to choose something to wear, and trotted back into her closet.

She scanned over many a dress, however all were either not well suited for a nightclub, being too business-woman-looking, or fit for her vampire self. She scowled again, wondering what happened to her other dresses. It was then she thought of looking in the boxes, and remembered she didn't put away those dresses because she spaced out.

She opened the box, dumping all of its contents on the bed. That was much better, now that she could find something to wear. Maka sifted through until she found her red party dress.

_Perfect. _Maka thought

The design of the dress was simple yet complex all at once. The bottom layer was part spandex, which caused it to form to shape, while the top layer was a beautiful lace. The scarlet dress ran down to her mid thigh, and the one sleeve down to her elbow. The left side had no sleeve or strap. The lower layer made of spandex and silk was a tube-like design, starting around her bust and going down to the bottom of the dress, leaving her arms and shoulders exposed. The dress allowed for mobility, but wasn't too skimpy either. She had to admit that she liked this dress most of all, it was elegant and modern, and a lovely shade of red between scarlet and crimson.

It was also one Alucard bought for her.

The dress didn't hold much meaning though, or at least wouldn't have if it were anyone else. Royal bloods did treat their friends kindly and generously, they were known for it, but when Alucard gave you something, it wasn't trivial. Maka figured it was for the occasion he used as an excuse, the ball her dear friends were hosting for her as a goodbye party. It was something they had always done, since they saw her no more than three months at a time, and she would be gone for longer, usually.

Maka carefully placed the dress aside on her bed, away from the mountain of clothes on her bed. With an hour and twenty-five minutes left, she decided to put all her things away, including her volcano of clothes that threatened to erupt with the cat inside, unbeknownst to Maka until she reached the bottom of the pile.

"Oh those dresses were all so pretty! How many did Al give you? Are you getting ready for him? No, no. He's not even here. Is Maka-chan trying to get all sexy for a man hunt?" Blair purred, much to Maka's dismay.

"In order: Thank you, three, he actually is here, but I'm not meeting him and no man hunt will take place in any sense of the term." Maka answered, making Blair perk her ears.

"Oh, then why are you getting ready?" Blair asked

"Going out with Kid and his friends, they felt like partying and Black*Star isn't allowed to throw a party in the building." Maka replied nonchalantly, her vampire side not really affected by the idea for two main reasons. They weren't really her friends; none, except Kid, knew what she really was, and two, she would be taunted by walking happy meals, and wouldn't get to have not even one bite, and THAT did not make her happy.

"Maka-chan met new friends?! That's great! You won't be so lonely and sad. And maybe later you can get a boyfriend and-"

"Blair..." Maka interrupted. "Who said I was lonely and sad?" Maka inquired, sounding like a mother whose child found out something she wasn't supposed to from someone else; she was curious as to how her friend could see through her facade when even her own mother couldn't.

Blair transformed, twirling her thumbs and looking down like a child being scolded. "Well, you don't have many people you care about here. Scratch that, basically no one. We both know you're bipolar when it comes to Kid. You always seem sad when you think of home, so I thought if Maka-chan had friends-"

"Blair, I have you. You know you're like an older sister to me. You are enough and all I need. You know how I am about making friends." At this Blair frowned, knowing far too well that her dearest friend's policy was to never fully trust anyone. Sometimes she wondered if Maka even trusted her. The thought made her amber eyes start to water.

Maka noticed her best friend's reaction to her could words and sighed. "But... If you're really that worried about me, I guess it won't be so bad to humor you and play nice with the humans and Kid." Maka said, making Blair smile happily and hug Maka, even though she was still in a towel. Maka knew Blair since birth, and knew she only wanted the best for her, and therefore trusted Blair, not even thinking over it twice. So when Maka said she would try to play nice, she meant it. She really would try, if only for Blair.

The two chatted for a few minutes before Blair went out for a drink. Like Maka, she was a vampire, her affinity was known as animorphism, or the ability to shape shift into animals. Blair also happened to have 500 years on Maka, but Maka was a noble, and she was B-class.

A-class was a term reserved for the aristocracy, nobles and royals. B-class vampires were also high up, but usually served the Nobility, until they were free. Blair was changed by Maka's mother, and even though Kami gave Blair the option of relief of servitude, Blair stayed. She had a deep admiration for Kami, and considered Kami to be her savior. Maka didn't understand why, that was between Blair and her mother, but because of it, Blair and Maka formed a deep bond.

Because of this bond, however, Maka was taken under Blair's wing, rather than Maka ordering Blair around; she treated Blair as an equal, even more like an authority, rather than a subordinate.

* * *

Maka now had an hour left, and decided to toss on a t-shirt and denim shorts and lounge around for a while. She could toss on the dress and a little bit of makeup in ten minutes' time and still look well enough for a nightclub, so she wasn't worried.

A knock came to her door, and as Maka opened it, green eyes met amber and red. Kid and Soul were both dressed and ready to go, both had given Maka a raised eyebrow, both on the left side, which only Maka seemed to notice.

"Um, who are you?" Soul asked, trying not to notice the figure of the lovely lady in front of him. Kid's eyes went wide, and it was only until she looked at Kid did she notice she was still in her full form. Thank Death she had retractable fangs, unlike some other vampires.

"Jade! What are you doing here?" Kid chirped, as if worried about seeing her. Well, he was; Maka tended to be cold towards Kid in her vampire form ever since the incident. Hopefully differences could be put aside and Maka would remember their story for times like this.

"Oh, hello Kid." She sneered. "Nothing much, I just wanted to see my dear little sister; why? Is there something wrong with that?" Maka asked, her vampire side loved to toy with Kid.

"No, nothing at all." Kid replied, he was tense because of Maka's vampire form. Did she have a drink in her apartment? Was there blood in the apartment... in a noticeable place?

"So you're Maka's older sister?" Soul interrupted Kid and Jade's (Maka's) staring contest with his innocent question.

Maka smiled at Soul, she didn't mind the albino's presence, although something about it rattled her cage. She was still nice and civil with him, though, because she had nothing against him.

"Yes. I'm Maka's older sister. I'm guessing she doesn't mention me often?" She asked, scowling at the albino's amazement.

"Well I just met her today. You would have to ask Kid." Soul replied, running his hand through his hair. She looked like Maka, but was slightly taller, and much more... gifted... in certain areas than Maka. Soul wondered whether Maka had gotten the short end of the stick or just wasn't grown into her full figure yet... and then he remembered that she was around his age.

_Definitely the stick... _Soul thought, trying not to stare or get a nosebleed from the gorgeous woman in front of him.

"No, she hasn't mentioned you. In truth, I almost completely forgot you existed." Kid said bluntly.

"Well, life can't always be a dream boat, can it?" She replied bitchily. (A/N: Yes... bitchily IS a word.)

Soul was a little disappointed that his best friend didn't get along with this girl, because he wouldn't mind tongue wrestling her, but cool guys didn't put girls before their best friends.

"You can come in, if you want, but I won't guarantee your safety." Jade(Maka) joked, chuckling as she left the door open and turned around for the two boys to follow.

They stepped in, going into the living room. The spacious lofty design much like Soul's, with an open kitchen to the left and a dining area between it and the balcony. To the right was a living room, then a hallway for three rooms, two on the left separated by a bathroom, and a smaller one on the right with its own bathroom. Across the dining space on the right was a study space, a cozy area complete with a window ledge perfect for laying down with a good book.

Soul looked around, the apartment was laid out much like his, but two rooms stayed across one another, while her apartment had three rooms. The visible space had a minimalist style, and was scarce of personal items such as pictures. As such, it gave the area a foreign feeling, not at all a homey place. It felt kind of like his old home to him.

"I'm guessing she didn't have you keep the place while she was gone, did she?" Jade(Maka) asked to Kid, now in the kitchen, searching the fridge with a scowl on her face.

"No, she did, but I just had some maids do it, I know Maka doesn't appreciate symmetry as much as I do." Kid replied, tossing the keys to the apartment lightly on the counter, much to Soul's surprise. Just how well did they know each other?

"Hmm, okay then," Jade(Maka) said, finding nothing good (blood in a thermos, blood bags, B+ tablets) in the fridge. "I'll go get her and tell her to hurry up since you two are here."

"No overly protective sister threats or anything?" Soul joked, trying to lighten up the mood.

"No, because I don't really care what she does. She could kick your ass from here to kingdom come in three minutes flat, I don't care who you are, it's true. As for Kid, he knows exactly what I would do if anything happened." She said back coldly, making Soul's attempt to ease tension a fruitless merit.

Jade(Maka) walked back into her room and shut the door, pretending to tell Maka that her friends were here.

She changed back quickly, changing out of the shorts and shirt into her red dress and brushing her hair, leaving it loose. It was mostly dried now, but still a little damp, giving it a silkier texture than usual. She slipped on her black heels and put on a back choker made up of silk ribbon. The bow-tie design on the back of her neck, rather than the front. It was then she decided that it looked stupid with her hair down, and pulled it into a bun, emphasizing her neck. She put on a black charm bracelet from her mother, with a sun, a flame, a snowflake, a rose, a hummingbird, and a crescent moon. Her outfit was completed by the designer jacket she had put on, also black.

She glanced at herself in the mirror, now visible because she wasn't in full vampire form. She dare say, she looked good, damn good.

She walked out to her living room to find her friends in the living room, chatting about some missions they had or would like to have. Kid was laying on the white couch, his feet hanging off the edge, so as to not get the couch dirty. Soul sat on the chair adjacent to the couch, and was first to look up and see Maka.

Kid noticed Soul's eyes go wide and turned to look behind him, expecting the worst. Instead, he found Maka looking gorgeous in a (if he was really honest with himself) seductive red dress. Her hair was pulled back in a bun, with a couple strands down, framing her face. Her heels made her legs flex, showing off just how toned they were.

Kid and Soul both stood up, never taking their eyes off Maka.

"I didn't know you guys would be here this early. Sorry to keep you waiting." Maka said, not really noticing the guys' stares as she went towards the front door, grabbing her keys. Her hips sashayed naturally as she walked, her butt also very attention grabbing as it swayed with her hips.

"Hot damn." Soul muttered under his breath, Kid couldn't catch it, and neither could Maka. Coincidentally, Kid muttered some words of his own at the same time, so neither was really paying attention to the other's words or actions. Maka just didn't catch it because she was too busy trying to control her vampire side.

"Maka," Kid said, recovering quickly, "it's not time to leave yet. We just came here early because we were ready, so if you have anything else you need to take care of, go ahead and take your time."

Just then, Maka's phone rang from somewhere in the apartment. She checked her pockets and found it wasn't with her. It kept ringing and she noticed it on the kitchen counter in front of one of the bar stools. She walked over to it and looked at the caller ID, and picked it up.

"Hey Maka, it's Liz."

"Oh hey, yeah I saw the caller ID. What's up?" Maka asked casually, leaning against the counter while she chatted with her new friend.

"We're ready, and Black*Star was going to Soul's apartment to chill before the nightclub, but they're not letting him in." Liz said, obviously annoyed with the guy's antics.

"Tell him to turn around and knock on my door behind him. The guys were finished and decided to crash over here for a while." Maka said, rapping her fingers against the counter lightly.

"YOU live in the apartment across from Soul's?! I thought it was vacant." Liz was surprised and wondered why no one noticed, but didn't mention it to Maka.

"Yeah, I was just as surprised, funny coincidence. I guess it's just the difference in schedules that meant I never saw any of you before." Maka replied, deciding to grab a k-cup and make some coffee in the Keurig. Coffee relaxed her when she wanted blood but couldn't have any, as did tea, but she figured she would want to be really awake for the club as well, and chamomile always made her sleepy.

"Oh. OK then, I'll text Black*Star and I guess we could head up if we're ready early, if that's okay with you." Liz said, stating the end more like a question.

"Yeah, that's cool with me. I go get Black*Star instead, he's only out in the hallway anyways." Maka replied, deciding it gave her something to do as the girls got ready.

"Kay, bye Maka." Liz said. Maka also said her goodbye and walked over to the door, calling over to Black*Star letting him know that the guys were in her apartment. When she opened the door, Black*Star did a double take, making sure this was the same girl as earlier before.

"HAHAHA! I ALMOST DIDN'T RECOGNIZE YOU THERE! BUT THEN I SAW YOUR FLAT CHEST AND REALIZED IT WAS REALLY YOU!"

She sighed, annoyed, and walked back in, with Black*Star behind her, and went back into the kitchen. The only reason she didn't smack him is because she'd probably end up drawing blood, which is i=one thing that she couldn't let happen right then.

"Oh, I forgot, do any of you guys want some coffee?" Maka said, tilting her head in such a way that both Kid and Soul had to admit (to themselves) that it was just adorable. All three boys denied the offer, and Maka informed them about the Xbox 360 and the collection of video games that she had in the TV stand drawers, to which Soul and Black*Star agreed.

Kid seemed tense to Maka, so she set her coffee on the glass table, and lifted Kid's legs so she could sit, setting them back down on her lap, holding them there for a moment so Kid didn't retract them. Soul and Black*Star were too busy admiring the large collection of games she had to notice.

"Video game junkie, Maka?" Black*Star joked, surprisingly at a normal tone of voice.

Maka was too busy fussing with Kid to notice, trying to assure him that all was fine, and that she had the vampire side under control, to notice. The two were shooting looks at each other as if having a vocal conversation, but because they were telepathically communicating, it looked just plain odd to Soul and Black*Star.

Maka was rolling her eyes and leaning forward for her coffee as Kid decided to sit up,putting his feet on the floor, obviously not as comfortable with Maka as usual. It was then the two noticed their friends' raised eyebrows.

"Lover's quarrel?" Soul joked, he knew that they weren't, but when they pitched one down the middle like that, he was going to swing.

Maka just took a sip of her coffee silently, her eyes closed, as if to forget her worries for a moment. Kid just shot a look at Soul as if to say 'not funny, not cool, so shut up', his head rested in his palm, him leaning on the armrest.

Black*Star and Soul exchanged looks, the earlier shrugging it off, but Soul felt something was off.

Just then, a knock was heard at the door, and Maka shot up, the coffee cup now on the table once more. She walked over to the door, opening it to Liz, Patti, and Tsubaki.

Maka smiled at them warmly, "You all look amazing! Maybe I should have taken some extra time getting ready."

Tsubaki shook her head. "Don't say that Maka! You look-"

"Sexy!" Patti shouted out. The girls laughed and Maka motioned them in, being that there was still some time before the place opened.

All girls seated themselves in the living room.

"So what's the nightclub called?" Soul asked, getting right down to what he thought was on everyone's minds.

"Masquerade, and yes, they even give you the option of wearing a mask." Maka replied, adding on the last part before anyone could ask. "Its pretty fun, and I know some of the staff there, so getting in isn't a problem, we don't need to wait in line."

Everyone listened as Maka explained how to get there and what the place was like. By the time Maka was done explaining everything, it was time to go. Once it was known that they would have t go by car, being that it was on the other side of the city, problems arose.

Everyone wanted to take a car but Soul, Black*Star, Liz, and Patti knew for a fact that they were going to be drinking; and when Kid suggested that he could drive Liz and Patti home while Tsubaki or Maka drove the guys in a different car, Maka and Tsubaki admitted that they were thinking about drinking as well.

It was then that Soul and Black*Star started guffawing.

"SINCE WHEN DO YOU DRINK, TSUBAKI?!" Black*Star said, laughing.

"Since the day you came home so drunk you threw up on the floor and collapsed in your own vomit, leaving me to deal with the mess!" Tsubaki retorted, making Soul laugh and point a finger at his blue-haired friend.

"I don't know why you're laughing and pointing like a big ape, especially when you've probably been through the same thing on less drinks." Liz said, looking at her nails as she filed them.

"Just 'cause I can't beat you in beer pong doesn't mean I get sick so easily. Besides, I'm more surprised that tiny-tits over there is going to score a drink, let alone be able to drink it all down." Soul said, chuckling at the last part.

"Please, I'm not as much of a lightweight as you'd think, and come on, this is Death City! If a DWMA student orders a drink, they don't care, they know we go through a lot and no one really minds us having a drink every now and then, just so long as we're not alcoholics." Maka retorted.

"That's true, Kilik's party has booze all the time and the teachers don't care much unless Black*Star spikes the punch at school parties." Liz commented

"Whatever, let's just figure out how we're all going to get home and then go to the club." Soul suggested, and just then Patti started clapping her hands childishly, excited over something she came up with.

"I have an idea~" Patti singsonged "Why don't we all take the limo and have a sleepover! We can all get to know Maka better and bond and have fun."

"That's a great idea Patti." Tsubaki said, smiling warmly.

Everyone in some way agreed, except Kid. He sat on the couch, thinking about it, everyone turned to him, and looked at each of his friends, his eyes finally resting on Maka's green orbs. For a moment he was going to reject the idea altogether, but there was something in her eyes that told him he had nothing to worry about. He felt assured that Maka was okay, and that the side of her that was human was in control once again.

"Sounds like a good idea to me." Kid said, Liz already dialing the limo driver on her cell.

* * *

They arrived at Masquerade at 6pm, just as the sun was setting, the streetlights turning on just as Maka was last to step out of the limo, Kid shutting the door and waving the driver off. Maka walked straight up to the bouncer, a tall, lean muscled guy with straight light-blonde hair that flowed down to his shoulders.

As soon as the guy saw Maka he smiled widely, the toothpick in his mouth moving up with his grin.

"My, my, is that Maka Albarn?" Mifune said, opening his arms wide for a hug.

"Why yes it is, living in the flesh, how's it going Mifune?" Maka said, accepting his embrace with an even stronger one.

"Great, now that our favorite party girl is back. Angela's inside, she'll be going crazy when she sees you, and apparently with an entourage." Mifune said chuckling.

"Oh yeah, Mifune, this is Liz, Patti, Black*Star, Tsubaki, Soul and Kid." Maka said, listing them off from left to right. "We decided we wanted to have a good time and I suggested this place, so they're with me."

"Cool, my name's Mifune. I'm the bouncer and co-manager, so as long as you guys don't get into too much trouble, I'm fine with it." Mifune said, leaving the door open for them to stroll right in to the front, where a girl stood on a bar stool behind a podium. She had tight curls in her hair and looked quite young, around 15 or so to be exact. Her head was tilted down and she was looking at a clipboard, jotting down names and group sizes and other important information.

"Hello and welcome to Masquer- MAKA!" The girl's eyes lit up as she looked up from the clip board and she practically tackled the blonde over the podium, somehow not knocking over a single thing as she hugged the blond tightly.

"Hey Angela, its been a while. How are you sweetheart?" Maka said, hugging the girl back in an elder-sibling-like fashion.

"I'm great! And like hell it's been a while! It's been forever!" Angela shouted back over the thumping of the music from the door behind her.

"Okay, I guess it's been more than just a while."Maka said laughing.

"So Makaaaa, who are these lovely people?" Angela said, pulling back from their hug.

"Oh, these are Liz and Patti, Tsubaki, Soul, Black*Star and Kid." Maka replied, pointing out each one as she said their names.

"I'm guessing the one with the stripes in his hair is the cute little reaper boy you used to always talk about?" Angela said, laughing.

"WHAT?!" Everyone in their group said.

"And who are you calling little? You're like five years younger than me!" Kid yelled back.

"I have centuries over you, reaper boy." Angela spat, making everyone become tense. Then Kid realized it.

"Maka, she's a-!" Kid yelled, worried.

"A witch. I know that Kid. Don't worry guys, Angela, like Kim, has restoration magic. That's why she seems so young. I'm the one in charge of her treaties with Lord Death and act as a middleman for her, along with Mifune. It's easier to just have me do the negotiations because it doesn't cause as much a riot as would a witch walking into the DWMA, and Mifune can be pretty hard-headed and terse as well." Maka explained

"That still doesn't explain why you were talking about me, Maka." Kid said, happy that the dim lighting hid his blush.

"I'm old enough to know who you were when you walked in. Maka doesn't actually talk about anyone that I don't ask about, so serious all the time. You need to get laid Maka!" Angela teased, strolling over to a wall of masks being showcased behind locked individual cubes, completely clear and the source of illumination in the room.

She unlocked a cube with an intricate lace mask, with a pattern much like the silhouette of a bat. Black ribbon for one to tie around their head hung off the sides as Angela picked it up and held it out to Maka, replacing the spot with a plastic neon mask.

"Still as blunt and crude as ever I see." Maka said, taking the mask from her and putting it over her face. It made the mystery factor of Maka go off the charts. Her pale skin in contrast with the jet black of the lace made her seem that much more unreal, and made her green eyes stand out that much more.

"Of course! Anyways, go ahead in!" Angela said to Maka, before turning to the others.

"Okay, so each of you can grab a mask from the other wall here, if you like." Angela said, motioning to a wall that held many intricate masks, but not ones quite as unique as the others.

"Why not that wall?" Patti asked, wondering about Maka's lovely and odd-shaped mask.

"She special ordered that one. It's something we have here at Masquerade; you can get a special mask or claim one as your own if you plan on returning, or just to leave here as something to showcase, but more people like to choose the walls inside for that." Angela explained as each picked out a mask.

Patti chose a half-face mask that had giraffe print all over the front,complementing her animal print dress, while Liz chose a black suede mask complemented with feathers of sapphire blue, which easily went well with the peacock feather design of her long halter dress.

Black*Star was sifting through the masks, tossing the ones that didn't toss his interest behind him, where Kid caught them in order to make sure none broke nor quote:"defaced the symmetry of the flooring". He sifted through the masks for a full two minutes with Soul watching the spectacle in amusement as Tsubaki tried to get him tame enough to search through the masks gently enough to not damage them or cause a mess.

Black*Star eventually found a mask, apparently made for men. It was grey but had an odd tint to it, both or purple and blue, which only appeared when the light hit it just so. He glanced at it and studied it carefully, noticing that the black streaks on it made a circle, with three orbs that seemed to spin clockwise on it, as depicted by its tails.

Black*Star studied it curiously, staring at it seemingly deep in thought for a good minute...

and then tossed it behind him.

Kid, still busy sorting out all the others masks, had little time to react to the falling mask, and Tsubaki had been too busy looking for her mask to notice Black*Star's antics after Kid reassured her that he would watch Black*Star. Soul paid no mind to his best friends' antics, being that they were always up to something.

The mask fell, and Kid caught the sight of its descent, but it was too late for him to make it, so he watched hopelessly as it fell...

right into a creamy white hand.

Maka picked up the mask, and studied it for a moment, recognizing the symbol on it immediately. He face turned from one of recognition to cold hatred in seconds, said cold hatred being directed into the back of a certain aqua-haired meister's head.

"I was wondering what was taking you all so long, so I walked back out here, and what I get is a mask of the sacred Hachiman almost shattering!" Maka stated coldly.

Soul and Black*Star could feel ice in their veins at the sound of her voice, and turned around, and Tsubaki, who had went further down the way, walked back to the group, a red and white mask in her hand that complemented her strapless dress recognized the red markings of the Japanese sun goddess Amaterasu the second she saw them. Her dress had a red ruffled upper half divided from a tight lower half that was white, reaching just above her knees. She felt that the mask was meant to be, since her family loved Amaterasu, and the mask was here, and it matched her dress.

She stopped in her tracks as she saw Maka giving a stumped black*Star the evil eye. Maka's right eye twitched once before she started yelling at him in Japanese and English.

(A/N: Translations in parenthesis)

"Nanda yo omae wa!? (Who the hell do you think you are?!) You're Japanese and you toss this mask to the floor like it's nothing?! Neboken Ja-Neyo! (Get your head out of your ass!) I'd understand if you were a foreigner, but seriously? Throwing Hachiman's mask on the floor?! Baka-ne! (You idiot!) Are you trying to invoke the wrath of the God of War ON PURPOSE?!"

Black*Star stood utterly confused at everything Maka yelled at him about, as did Soul. Kid's eyes widened in realization, as did Tsubaki's. Maka shot a glare so cold at Black*Star he could practically feel her gaze piercing into his soul.

Oh the irony...

Maka sighed, noticing Black*Star had no idea what she was ranting about earlier.

"Nevermind, I can see you're clearly confused about what I just scolded you for. The good thing is that the mask is fine and not even scratched." Maka said, looking at the mask in her hand once again. It was then Tsubaki caught sight of the mask, and her eyes widened in realization, and then narrowed in seemingly slight anger.

She was seething on the inside, but tried to keep it in. She then felt her anger subside into annoyance, but nothing Black*Star hasn't done before. Black*Star could almost feel Tsubaki's frown, and turned to meet said frown.

As soon as Black*Star noticed her features were caused by him, he instantly cursed himself. He didn't like seeing Tsubaki annoyed or angry, ESPECIALLY if he was the cause of it.

While it seemed Maka brushed off the matter, Tsubaki took it a little more to heart, because legend behind her clan said that they were blessed by Hachiman, and thus able to take on more than one weapon form.

Hachiman was their most beloved deity in her family.

Tsubaki wordlessly turned on her heel and went into the next room, deciding she needed a drink. Black*Star stared after her, oblivious to the reason for her anger.

"What's her problem?" Black*Star asked, seemingly unconcerned, even though he truly was, which only Maka seemed to understand.

"You dumb ass! Black*Star, I can tell you're concerned for her, but not everyone can see souls you know, so ACT like you're concerned, because I can tell you are."

Black*Star's eyes widened, but Maka continued. "Secondly, Tsubaki is Japanese! Apparently you really need to learn more about Japanese culture, because that was probably one of the most offensive things you could do in front or around any Japanese, especially Tsubaki! Hachiman is the Japanese God of War, FYI, and the Nakatsukasa clan's most beloved deity. Hachiman supposedly blessed her clan's ancestors, which is her family's belief as to why she has multiple weapon forms."

The ninja-assassin's eyes grew even wider, if that was humanly possible. Maka added in one last fact, after huffing at Black*Star's stupidity. "He is also the protector of the Japanese people as well, so that's why I took it as offensive, especially seeing that you're Japanese. You basically dropped the American flag on the ground and left it for a passing bird to shit on it."

Black*Star's features twisted into a mixture of horror, regret, realization, and a few other emotions Maka couldn't quite catch.

"How was I supposed to know?! I wasn't raised in Japan, I was taken in by the DWMA when I was really young, I can barely remember my own family." He said aloud, though more to himself than to anyone else.

"If it helps, Tsubaki's wavelength is less erratic, she's calmer right now." Maka said.

Black*Star nodded and was about to dash out, but Maka grabbed Black*Star by the wrist, making him look back at her.

"You're going to need a mask. Here." Maka said, holding out the mask of Hachiman to him.

"Thank you Maka." He said, dashing out into the next room as he was putting on his mask.

* * *

Maka sat at the bar, drinking a martini, with her mask on the counter. She sat in between Kid and Soul, with Kid to her left, and Liz to his left. The four chatted animatedly, Liz and Soul getting to know Maka and vice versa.

All four had their masks on the counter, feeling the cool air conditioning hit their face as they got off the dance floor (such as in the case of Liz and Maka) or simply because they didn't find the need for their masks at the bar (Kid and Soul's case).

Kid had a mask that was modeled after his father's, since he held him in such high respect. As for Soul, he had found an old venetian-style devil mask, finding the irony nostalgic and somewhat amusing. Memories of his old life rushed through his mind, but disappeared as he took another swig of beer.

"You guys should dance, its fun, and who knows, maybe you'll get some." Maka said, turning on her bar stool on lean against the counter and look at the crowd. She smirked as she said this, partially because her vampire side was making her a bit less prudish.

"Nah, I'd rather not be bombarded with sweaty people on all sides." Kid said.

Maka sighed, "And your excuse?" She said, looking at Soul.

"Same as Kid's, that and I can get some on my own, without surprise butt-raping some random chick." Soul said, smirking.

Maka chuckled, "Doubt it. And do you see anyone actually doing that? Mifune is careful to make sure no one is overly- sexually assaulted."

"Overly?" Kid repeated, an eyebrow raised.

"Couples, the usual tease, ex lovers who still have those small flings every now and then, and of course there are times when a little game of fun gets a little out of hand." Maka said, pointing out a couple, some skimpily-clad woman, and two people who obviously had a thing for each other as she went along, putting her hand down for the last reason.

Kid's mouth formed an "oh" while Soul just studied the crowd, realizing that she didn't point out the 'game that gets out of hand'.

"What about the last group of people?" Soul asked Maka.

"Well, that's not here right now." Maka said simply. Liz and Kid turned around as well, now leaving Soul as the only one with his back to the crowd.

"Hey Maka, what did you mean by games?" Liz asked, a devious smile on her face.

"Extreme dares,trying to see who can do the most wild stuff, the occasional group of girls seeing how many guys they can tease to the point of giving them a boner or further, things of an alcohol induced sexual nature like that." Maka stated, emphasizing 'or further' in a suggestive way, which was somewhat a turn on to the guys.

Liz laughed and took a swig of her Budweiser, laughing again before she spoke, "Okay then! Let's be that group!"

"What?!" Kid and Soul said simultaneously. Obviously, Liz had to be drunk, crazy, or both.

"Sure." Maka stated, making the other three's jaws drop. Liz laughed again.

"That's what I like to hear, that's the spirit! So the bookworm takes the bait? Who would have known?" Liz said, laughing.

"Maka, how many martinis have you had?" Kid asked, grabbing her wrist as she stood up, making sure she was thinking clearly.

"Just two, and I'm not such a lightweight, I'm thinking fine, I just think it sounds like fun." Maka said clearly, pulling her arm from Kid's hand.

Maka turned her head to Liz, "Okay, what do you want me to do?" she asked.

Liz tapped her chin in thought, signaled Maka to walk over, and whispered in her ear, making both girls giggle. Kid and Soul raised an eyebrow each.

Maka glanced over to Soul before shaking her head, "No, Liz, who says he'll even be up for it. Let's not drag anyone from our group into it if they don't want to."

"Who says he won't be up for it? Besides, you agreed to anything!" Liz retorted, laughing.

"Fine, then. But remember his when I dish out a dare to you." Maka said, strolling over to Soul.

"What were you two whispering and laughing about?!" Soul said, somewhat worried.

"Aw, you're scared of little ol' me? I'm flattered, but don't be such a pansy. Liz dared me to tease you."

"TILL HE GETS A NOSEBLEED!" Liz said out loud, laughing. Kid's expression became horrified. How could Liz do that? Let alone how could Maka be willing on her part, hesitant only because it was someone in their group? Kid thought Maka would be less willing with a stranger, especially with her personality.

_Oh yeah, she's a vampire. Natural tendency to be more forward sexually, even if Maka's natural personality is innocent, that's only half of it._ Kid recalled.

Soul gaped for a moment, wondering how Maka's personality was so pure by day and so carefree by night. Of course, he had no clue what she really was.

Soul's gape soon went into a grin, "I bet you that you can't do it."

Maka smirked deviously, "Oh I can't now? Okay, if I can, you have to do any favor I want, and vice-versa." Maka said, surprisingly sure of herself.

Soul's signature cocky grin made its way onto his face. "You're on."

Maka grabbed his hand and the two made their way into the dance floor, into the crowd. The song changed to The Ballad of Mona Lisa by Panic! At The Disco. (Cue song because I'm not putting the lyrics on. BTW" Rock is very sexy to many people in Death City, the rock music makes hormones rise, especially adrenaline, serotonin, and other good stuff.)

Maka guided Soul to the center of the crowd. She turned as whispered in his ears seductively, making sure she was practically right against his body and her hot breath tickled his ear and neck.

"It's less noticeable in large crowds, because they're all in their own little worlds, so it's basically you and me."

Soul had a stupid grin on his face, as if he was going to win. The second he agreed Maka knew he basically signed a contract making him her bitch.

Maka smirked seductively as she danced around him, rubbing her hands down her body as she stood in front of him, before reaching a hand behind her to his tie around the collar of his maroon dress shirt. She pulled him closer, her arms going behind her to his neck, holding him near her, making Soul put his arms on her hips.

Maka ground a bit into Soul's body and Soul teased back by whispering sweet nothings in her ear, deciding it wasn't fair that only he was being toyed with. They danced close to each other, both trying to get the other noticeably turned on first, rather than just Soul, as it had started out.

The pair's bodies fit together like puzzle pieces the entire time; they both noticed, but shook it off, both determined to win...

**PLEASE READ BELOW!**

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I know, you probably hate me for cutting it relatively short and where I did, **but** there is a reason for it. I was being an indecisive little bitch and it led me to editing a lot, which took lots of time and then a busy schedule doesn't really help with that. **So on my profile I'll have a poll as to who you want to win the bet**. You can put ideas as to what the winner should have the loser do on the _**reviews**_, but remember, it's only a consideration, I might get a stroke of genius and pick something completely ridiculous...

...ly amazing!

Anyways, I can **guarantee** that Maka's sexy vampire habits and urges will be a driving force throughout the story, as well as the fact that Kid is a REAPER! People need to stop treating him so humanly and use those Death-God perks for some fun. Don't worry if you don't like KiMa, Soul has a few cards up his sleeve, and there **will** be smutty goodness in every chapter, or at least some fluff if things are going slow.** My account is also expanding to non-Soul Eater stories, but more like one-shots requested by my friends. If any of you have a good idea for a one-shot that you want to see. PM ME AND I WILL TRY TO DO IT!**


	6. Chapter 6: A Trick Of The Light?

*PLEASE READ THIS MESSAGE!* thank you.

Oh. my. god. It's been forever since I last updated and I'm such a lazy bum, I'm filth! Asymmetrical filth! I mean two months plus, it's just ridiculous at this point. I'm also going to break up my chapters into smaller segments, but that means I won't take long when I'm writing. And I PROMISE no chapter will be less than 4,000 words in this story. Soul Eater Fan's honor!

Also... let me remind you that her first day at school was gray outside because Alucard was around. Thus there were clouds and Maka didn't need glasses, and she's a half vampire, so it just bothers her and weakens her a bit, unlike other young vampires. Blair is older, and so it just agitates her as well. I'll get more into it in the story.

On another note: you'll see what won the poll by reading. So... enjoy the chappie!

* * *

Kid watched the crowd even after Maka and Soul disappeared into the sea of dancing people, worried about Maka and how she would act, with all the people around her, hearts beating fast, sweating, and some too drunken or dazed to defend themselves...

_No_. Kid thought. The Maka he had seen go on the dance floor with his best friend was his other best friend. It was the human side of Maka who hated herself for being a monster. It was the same Maka who couldn't keep medical blood down, knowing it was human, so she had to switch to Kishin blood. Maka wasn't heartless or cold; she wouldn't do that.

_But her vampire side would. Maybe she would._ Maka explained that it was two different sides of her, but in the end, they are the same person. _They are Maka. She is Maka. But she wouldn't be so stupid as to transform here, let alone with myself around... but its not a matter of reason, if she gets hungry..._

"Kid? You seem worried, you okay?" Liz asked, snapping him from his thoughts.

"Yeah, just tense is all. This upcoming mission isn't child's play." Kid replied, his answer not entirely satisfying her. Still, she kept quiet, figuring her meister would open up to her when he was ready.

He scanned over the crowd once more before turning around to his drink. It had been ten minutes since he had last seen the blonde meister or his albino friend, so he figured they were still at that ridiculous dare started by Liz. He still couldn't wrap his mind around how easy Maka seemed about it, vampire or not. Maybe he didn't know Maka as well as he thought he did...

He shook off his thoughts, remembering that he also didn't see Maka for quite some time, and she left to be a guardian, things change. He had to as well, he was sure about that, he just couldn't keep track of his own changes.

Maka, on the other hand, certainly wasn't as close to filling her 'vampire form' curves before as she is no- _Woah there! Kid, don't let your mind wander south._

As much as Kid tried, he couldn't help but notice the subtle changes in Maka over the years, how her legs got longer, how her hips grew wider, and how her face replaced childish, rounded features, with more mature, angular ones.

Deciding that the path his thoughts were taking wasn't a wise one, he took a sip of the whiskey Maka suggested earlier. Of course, it only effected him for a moment until his death-god body started to cleanse his system, leaving him utterly sober once again.

It wasn't a moment later that he got up from his chair and walked into the crowd hurriedly after felt a surge of power emanate from deeper in the crowd. _Maka._

* * *

Maka wasn't sure whether it was the loud music, the drink she had, the collective feeling of euphoria radiating from the hot mass of dancing bodies, or some sort of combination of the three, but her senses were on overdrive...

_and she **loved**_ it.

It happened slowly, as Maka became more and more aware of Soul's hot touch on her cool hips. The music became, not louder, but still somehow more powerful, as if she could feel it in her body, telling her to twirl her hips here and shake there. The flashing lights added to her own euphoria, and the hot, sweaty mass of bodies around her suddenly became intoxicating; she could smell their sweat, and their skin, each with a different, unique scent, just like their blood. Once she was able to hear the rhythmic beating of hearts, she knew she was about to go wild with bloodlust.

The music switched to a song Maka recognized as "Guilty Pleasure" by Cobra Starship. She turned around to Soul dancing facing him, and for a moment, Soul could have sworn that forest green eyes flashed electric lime, but shook his head a bit and quickly dismissed it as a trick of the light.

It was one of the last straws, Maka was hungry, she was in the midst of hot bodies pumping blood, and there was one dancing so close to her she could practically taste his blood, and he was obviously getting tired or something. Maka didn't transform, obviously it would cause a scene, breaking the agreement between Angela and herself that said that she was welcome as long as she doesn't cause chaos. Instead, she stayed about the same, trying to control herself, but somewhat not able to as she started to speak.

"What's wrong, Soul? Getting tired or something?" Maka said a little bit sweetly, a little bit teasingly.

"Nothing, just the lighting in here made your eyes look almost glowing, really bright green. That or one too many beers." Soul joked chuckling.

Maka laughed back, "I'll go with the beers, considering my eyes are a more forest green." Maka said. She leaned in closer, not knowing that her vampire side seemed to enchant Soul a bit, not even purposefully, but something about her seemed to call to him, and he, her.

Looking at her face, Soul noted she was correct, and her eyes were almost hypnotizing.

The song changed to The Pussycat Doll's cover of 'Sway With Me', causing both to become minutely more aware of their environment.

It was then he noticed how close together their bodies were, and how close her lips were to his, and how kissable they looked. Something went over him, telling him to just kiss her already, but should he? She was Kid's friend, and obviously a close one, _could he possibly like Maka? Though they always deny it, they do seem to have something going on._ Soul was inexplicably torn, between the woman in front of him, now an enchanting temptress, and the 'what ifs' of life.

Maka noted their distance as well, but along with her blood lust she felt something else she couldn't quite place, and she suddenly found herself conflicted as well, as their faces slowly inched closer to each other, and their noses touched, their breaths mixing together, even though one didn't necessarily need to breathe.

They neared closer to each other, and Maka fought the instinct to just turn his neck and bite him, or just scrape him as they kissed, if and when they did. But for the moment, they stayed close, not kissing, each conflicted as to whether or not to go for it.

However conflicted Maka was inside, she didn't let it show on her features, playfully teasing Soul by seductively saying into his ear, "I don't think you're playing fair, Soul."

Maka pulled away first, every fiber of her being telling her to drink the sweet crimson that ran through his veins, but her mind telling her it was too risky, and that he was her new 'friend', and more importantly, **Kid's best friend**, and **most** importantly, that she made a **promise** to **Blair**. She tried not to make eye contact with Soul as she turned, his hand still on her wrist.

Maka still fought her instincts, but even with her hunger-induced thoughts of blood lust, she knew that it would be utterly stupid of her to pick a death god's best friend as her next meal, lest she had a death wish. 'Vampire Maka', had to agree, even though her senses were going wild on the inside, she knew she had to keep herself in check, even if it was hard to. She took a step away, Soul's grip still loosely following her as she did so.

* * *

Soul could feel the heat rise to his cheeks. Wait? He was blushing?

He certainly wasn't used to being the flustered one, he was always Soul, the cool guy, so what about Maka could make him like this?

Soul snapped out of his thoughts as he felt a light pressure leave his chest as Maka pulled away. She had a look on her face that told Soul she didn't fully want to leave his arms, so he pulled her into a dip.

"Where do you think you're going, you still have a bet with me." Soul said in a low, seductive tone.

Maka knew she shouldn't stay, but there was something about the way Soul just took control of the situation that made her think about him in a different kind of lustful way, but for only a brief moment.

Soul took Maka out of the dip, and she swayed with her back to him, looking up into his crimson orbs.

"What are you talking about? You've already lost." Maka said, gazing into his eyes. Her pupils dilated and then shrunk down to their original size as he dazedly repeated her last sentence.

"I already lost."

Soul touched his upper lip and looked at his fingers, blood? Then he somewhat snapped out of it, only somewhat aware of what just happened. He certainly didn't feel it. He tried not to look dumbfounded, how did he not notice it? He quickly dismissed himself and Maka saw he bumped into Kid as he left to go clean his "nosebleed".

* * *

Kid tried to get towards the center of the crowd, where he last saw Soul's gravity-defying, snowy hair. As he walked around he bumped into Soul, who was holding a hand in front of his nose, making a beeline for the restroom. He looked forward and saw Maka, who in turn spotted him.

He walked up to her, and she in return went to hug him tightly and nuzzle her face in his shoulder. His shoulder started to feel slightly damp, and it was only then that he heard what she was saying.

"- trying so hard, Kid. I haven't had anything to drink and the full moon is making me thirsty, food isn't helping and I was trying so hard not to bite him and I'm so stupid to have made that bet and I should have never started dancing and it was so stupid for me to have let my guard down thinking I could be norm-"

Maka kept ranting in between silent sobs as Kid rubbed her back. He lifted up her chin so she could look at him, keeping his other hand on her upper arm.

Her face wasn't puffy, but her cheeks were a hot pink from the crying, unlike her eyes, which still had milky white sclera. It was the fact that she was a half breed, so when she cried she didn't seem like others would, all puffy eyed and snotty, but the crimson streaks going down her face were a tell. Maka was crying tears of blood, and Kid silently thanked Death that no one saw it in the dim lighting, and that he chose to wear a black dress shirt.

Kid wiped away Maka's blood tears with his thumb, giving it a quick glance before rubbing it off on his other shirt. "Symmetry." He explained when he saw Maka's curious face.

She smiled, Kid's OCD was sometimes a mood lightener to her, his little quirks made him who he was, and when she needed comforting, she didn't feel as... awkward... she guessed would be the word that came closest to it.

Kid put his hands on her shoulders, putting together what he just heard and tying to figure out what to say. He couldn't believe Maka wasn't worried about drinking human blood, how could she keep it from him? And what could he say, 'I forgive you for almost-eating my best friend?'. No, that wouldn't do, it wasn't eating necessarily, but that didn't matter right now.

He just found out she was close to drinking his best friend's blood, and for a moment felt angry. But it all dissipated as he felt her tense under his grip that seemed to tighten for a moment.

Kid loosened his grip, thinking about how hard it must have been for her to suppress all of this, she was a vampire who forced herself to not drink from humans almost constantly. She may had been gone for a while, and she might have learned to drink human blood, but she told him. She looked for his help and she was a vampire Death damn it. Human blood was going to look more appealing sooner or later. Amber stared into emerald as he started to talk in a low, even tone.

"Maka, listen to me. You just wanted to have some fun, and no one can blame you for that. I know what the full moon does but you have to be more careful, for future reference. I'm not mad at you. You're a.."

He trailed off, deciding not to say it out loud for anyone to hear. "...well, you know, and it's natural for you to want to drink. You did such a good job, and I'm so proud of you. You have nothing to cry about, you didn't hurt anyone and I understand that this must be so hard for you, to reject a part of you, but I decided I'm going to help you, okay?"

Maka nodded her head in understanding. "But Kid, you've already helped I got into the DWMA because of you and-"

Kid cut her off.

"That's not what I'm talking about, Maka. Listen, I have to admit, for a long time I hated the vampire part of you. I didn't like vampires in general after what happened, and then when they took you away, _you_, Maka, _my first real friend._ You came back just a little bit different too, you know, you were always like the sun, but when you came back, you seemed a bit less so. I felt like the old Maka was gone, like they took the real you away,_ like they took the first girl I ever liked away_... I just started to hate them, I even started to hate you a bit."At this, Maka's eyes flashed of hurt and pain, they were just as evident in her eyes as they were in Kid's voice. He continued on.

"But I can _never_ hate you, I realize now that this side of you and your vampire half are the same person, and I could _never hate you_. You might have changed a bit, but that's because you started to grow up, and I couldn't handle it, so I pushed you away the same way I did this afternoon, but I could never fully do that, because I care about you too much, and you mean _so_ much to me, _I'm so sorry,_ in the end, _I_ was the one who changed on _you_, and that wasn't right of me. So, I decided I'm going to make things right by helping you in any way I can."

Maka's eyes were as wide as discs by the time Kid finished, and she gave him a hug that would easily harm him if he wasn't a reaper.

"I'm sorry too, Kid. We both acted that way. I must admit, reapers give vampires a bad vibe, you know, because of the whole 'threat-to-immortality' thing that was argued over in the Grim Times. I know you would never hurt me unless I did something to deserve it, but I still acted and felt differently towards both you and your father after that day, so I apologize as well." Maka said.

The two held each other for a moment before breaking apart. Kid spoke once more. "Maka, I know I helped you get in to the DWMA, but you're still weak. I did some reading and I have an idea, it's a stupid idea, a _really_ stupid idea, but if it'll help you I don't care..." Maka looked at him, trying to figure what he was going to say next, but she would never be ready to hear the next words he uttered.

"You're going to try and drink my blood."

Maka stood there for half a minute in silence before shouting, quietly, "What?!"

"You're going to-"

"No, Kid, I couldn't. I wouldn't be able to knowing that I'm harming -"

"I told you it's a stupid idea, but you wouldn't be harming me. I'm a _shinigami_, I would be able to keep going even if you drained me of all my blood. Granted, I would need some time to regenerate some blood, but I still wouldn't die. And you would be full faster. Vampires drink blood for energy, and my blood is especially strong, so if you just drank a little, you wouldn't need to struggle like this." Kid said, hoping she would agree. He knew that it was crazy, and that there were risks for the both of them, but he was willing to risk himself for Maka's sake.

Maka nodded. She knew that if she went much longer without blood, she might go into a blood rage, during which time the blood lust would be so intense, she wouldn't be herself, and she would do anything for blood. She couldn't risk putting an entire club of people in danger, or perhaps even more if she got away.

Kid pulled Maka closer as 'Beauty Of The Dark' by Mads Lager started to play. The slow danced and swayed with many others whom Maka presumed to be couples surrounded them.

* * *

Soul strolled out of the bathroom just in time to hear the song change, and just in time to see Kid pull Maka in for a dance.

He wouldn't be able to explain why, for he himself didn't know, but he felt something that resembled disappointment build in his chest. It was odd, he never felt like this with any other girl, but then again no other girl treated him like a normal person. The feeling in his chest was a little tight and he had the want to cut in and take Maka back into his arms, and to be the one to feel her body against his as they danced... Was he falling for her? No, that couldn't be it, he just met the girl this morning...

but it still hurt all the same.

* * *

Maka and Kid swayed a bit, acting normal before Kid put his head next to Maka's, hoping they wouldn't need to be in an awkward position as she drank. He knew his friend was watching Maka and himself, and Kid kept a look out, making sure no one would notice Maka.

"Maka, you can drink now, Soul stopped watching and went to his drink."

Maka looked at Kid and nodded. "I'll be as gentle as I can." She said in his ear before slowly sinking her teeth into his neck, making Kid's breath hitch.

Kid heard and read about being bitten by a vampire, and about how it felt, but he found that no other story was comparable to his. It was said that vampire bites caused the recipient immense pleasure, something just as good as sex. Kid had to say, if sex was going to be this good, he was thinking about just getting the 'dirty deed' done. Words couldn't describe how calm he felt, while also feeling alive.

It felt like his neck where Maka had bitten him was burning, but somehow cooling at the same time, and entirely pleasant. Kid felt dazed, as his head felt light and he was inexplicably more blissful, and at the same time he became more aware of his surroundings, or rather, more aware of Maka. His eyes took in all they could see of her body, each curve of her contour, the way Maka leaned her body against his, and finally rested on a ribbon of ash blonde that ran down her swan like neck, bringing up a hand to twirl it between his fingers. Her body felt cool against his, and he became more aware of how smooth her hand was in his as they danced. He didn't even notice that they were dancing until Maka pulled away, licking over the fresh wound.

"It'll heal faster that way. Thank you Kid; I hope I didn't take too much." Maka said, turning her face to look into his eyes.

"No, no, I'm fine." Kid said blissfully.

"I think that's the spit talking." Maka said. When Kid raised an eyebrow, she continued to explain.

"Vampires release hormones when they bite, the same way a snake releases venom, through the fangs. It's also in smaller doses in our saliva, and it holds healing properties as well. Because they're completely natural and not toxins, your body won't reject them."

Kid snapped out of it a little, enough to listen and absorb what Maka said as they walked back to the bar, meeting Tsubaki, Black*Star and Patty along the way, and by the time they reached Liz and Soul at the bar, Kid was back to normal.

"Hey Maka, I heard you won. Congrats." Liz said with a wink, making the younger blonde blush a bit.

"What's she talking about?" Black*Star asked, completely clueless to the bet.

"Nothing important." Maka said casually, it would have been suspicious to him if he didn't have a couple of beers and danced 'till he was dizzy with Tsubaki. As for the other two girls, Liz mouthed the words "tell you later" to them.

* * *

The group decided they had enough parting in for the night and Kid had the limo drive them back to Guillotine Manor, as everyone put their bags in the trunk before they all left for the club.

Maka hadn't been to the manor before, even though she and Kid had been friends for almost five years. The Gothic architecture intrigued her and reminded her somewhat of the house her mother had situated in Romania, near the palace.

As everyone walked in Lord Death greeted them, as he was having tea when he heard everyone walking in the front door.

"Hiya everyone! I'm glad too see you all are hanging out together. And hi Maka! How are you settling back in? No problems, right?" Lord Death asked.

"Good evening, Lord Death. I'm doing well, thank you for keeping the apartment open for me." Maka replied. Lord Death knew she was such a good kid, she just got the short end of the stick on many things, but she was also very talented. He often wondered about her and his little Kiddo, but of course it wouldn't be very cool of him to ask his son or any of his friends.

"Alright kids, have fun." Lord Death said, departing to Death-knows-where (no pun intended), and everyone went to the parlour of Gallows Manor, where mattresses were laid out in the center, and the furniture pushed against the wall. The room was black, white, and a dark chartreuse accented some of the furniture and the wall a bit, giving it some vivacity.

The girls went upstairs to Liz and Patty's rooms, which were joined if they rolled back the wall divider. The one room was so large that both were somewhat bothered by its sheer size. Maka could understand, the room was able to hold private bathrooms and walk in closets at each end, one for each girl. Liz later explained that Kid had the room's walls reconstructed so Liz's room mirrored Patty's, and so they wouldn't have to share a bathroom and closet.

Both of the girls had great appreciation and respect for Kid; he did so much and never asked for much. Both felt like no matter what they did they could never repay Kid, because they were sure if they continued to be the Brooklyn Demons, they would be dead by now. Maka nodded as Liz explained how she and Patty met Kid, much to Maka's amusement as she found out they tried mugging him.

"So how did you meet Kid?" Patty asked when Liz finished her story.

"Yeah Maka, I understand you guys met once in the Death Room and all, but how did you two become so close?" Tsubaki chimed in, with the sisters nodding their heads in agreement.

"Well I was staying with Spirit for a month because mama had important work to do, and this was also the time Stein was transferring to Shibusen, mostly because I was going to visit Death City more often, so if anything ever happened here in this hemisphere of the world, I could always come here. But Lord Death agreed to the transfer because the spike in madness levels here was a bit unusual." Maka explained, all the girls silent as they waited for her to continue.

"So I ended up staying here with my good-for-nothing papa for three days before I met Kid. He was really formal at first, but I told him there was no need to. We spoke a bit and he found out I was Deathscythe's daughter. During the time we spoke I noticed him fussing about, so I asked what was wrong." Maka sighed, "Shouldn't have done that, he made a fuss over how my pigtails were asymmetrical and spent 15 minutes fixing it." None of it was a lie, she just left out the... ehem... vampire *cough cough*... part out.

"That's Kiddo all right!" Patty said laughing as the girls walked back downstairs.

* * *

The sleepover/party went by with relative ease. Maka got along well with everyone, granted, there were a couple of moments in which Black*Star had become to obnoxious for the fiery-tempered blonde, causing her to Maka-Chop him, and hard.

Tsubaki and Maka seemed to have clicked instantly, the older, more nurturing girl seemed to have a calming and balancing effect to Maka's fire. As for Liz and Patty, Patty seemed to like the girl quite a lot, and the younger pistol's eyes seemed to shine with some sort of admiration. Liz, seeing that her sister warmed up to Maka, took this as a good sign and also befriended her, especially since Patty was very guarded as to whom she befriended and such.

Whereas the girls clicked with Maka amazingly fast, Black*Star and Soul had both independently decided to see where the new relationships Maka had built in their group went. The boys excused themselves to get some snacks for the group when Patty asked in that "special way" of hers, much to Maka's amazement, amusement, and slight guilt for making the guys get the snacks all by themselves.

In the kitchen, however, Black*Star and Soul were both still curious about Maka, and apparently all three found this the perfect time for a little chat.

"What do you guys think of Maka?" Kid asked.

Soul shrugged, "She's cool I guess, but I have to say her damn books hurt like hell."

"YOU ONLY GOT HIT ONCE! TRY..." Black*Star paused to count on his fingers how many times he had been hit. "... FOUR TIMES! ONLY A GOD LIKE ME CAN SURVIVE THAT MANY!"

"That's because you're acting like a buffoon," Soul chimed in, " but she does seem to have a short fuse." He added.

"Well that's Maka for you." Kid said, chuckling.

"SO KID, WHEN ARE YOU GOING TO ASK MAKA OUT ALREADY!" Black*Star all but shouted to the heavens.

"What?!" Kid said, wide-eyed and caught way off guard. He almost dropped the tub of Ice Cream he was carrying to the table so he could gather up everything. Soul felt his chest tighten, not entirely knowing why.

"Black*Star, shut up." Soul said before looking towards Kid. "But the loud mouth here does have a point though, you act differently around her, what's the deal?"

Kid sighed, "To be honest, I have no clue. I guess I just act differently with Maka because she was my first _real_ friend, let alone the first person that didn't deal with my OCD for some sort of ulterior motive, you know?" Kid said, his question more directed towards Soul than Black*Star.

Soul nodded his head in understanding.

"Besides, we're just friends." Kid finished.

Soul felt the tightness in his chest fade away as he let out a breath he didn't know he was holding in. Thankfully Kid couldn't hear him because he and Black*Star were on the other side of the kitchen, carrying their things through the door as Soul gathered up the last of his things...

But that didn't mean Black*Star didn't hear him.

The guys came in to find Tsubaki and Patty giggling about something. Patty snickered and Soul could have sworn he heard her mutter something like "nosebleed" under her breath.

_Wait a minute... three? Where's Maka?_

Liz entered the room from down the hall, looking a bit somber. "Maka's in the restroom, apparently her martinis didn't mix with the food she had before she left. She sounded pretty bad though, I heard her puke and I asked if she needed anything, she said it was fine because she had a hair tie and didn't want to ruin anyone's night." Liz said, lifting her gaze to Kid, seemingly asking as for what to do.

"Let me go talk to her, she's always been stubborn and won't ask for help easily." Kid replied, sighing as he walked down the hall to the restroom.

He knocked on the door, "Maka it's me-"

He heard something like Maka vomiting before she wheezed for him to come in.

"Shut the door." She said, her voice sounded strained, probably from all the puking. Kid froze as he saw what contents she emptied from her stomach with another body-racking retch...

Blood.

Kid at that moment would perhaps have thrown up himself, if he wasn't used to gorier sights than this, by now. Maka's face was paler than he had ever seen it before, and her eyes looked almost sunken in, with the darkening under her eyes. She looked as if she hadn't slept in years, and violent tremors racked her body as she looked wide-eyed at Kid. Her breathing was shallow and fast, like she was panting.

Maka looked as if she went through hell.

"What happened?!" Kid whisper-yelled.

"I felt hot, and then I was starting to feel faint, so I went to the bathroom to splash water on my face." Maka turned around to the toilet and threw up some more.

"I puked and Liz came to the door, asking if I was okay and she heard me vomit again. I made an excuse that the martini probably disagreed with my food and she said if I needed anything just to ask. I dismissed her saying I'll be fine, but Kid, I don't think I'll be fine... I feel... frozen."

Kid took a deep breath, trying his hardest not to panic. "I'll call Blair and she can sneak into the bathroom. She can help... hopefully."

* * *

Blair arrived quickly, Kid sneaking outside to meet her at the door. He nodded and told her to follow him, but Blair stopped in the doorway.

"What's wrong?" Kid asked, worried.

"I need to be invited in! Otherwise I can't-"

"Come on in, Blair-chan!" A high-pitched voice sounded, Kid froze.

"Now Kiddo, is there something you need to tell me?" Shinigami-sama's voice dropped to a more grave tone of voice, knowing that something was wrong, and it had to do with Maka.

Kid hung his head, hoping no one would hear the conversation he held with his father as the trio walked amongst the shadowy halls of the manor.

"You what?!" Shinigami-sama whisper-yelled as Kid explained what happened at the club.

"I told you I tried to-"

"I heard you Kiddo, I just couldn't believe what I heard. Do you know what happens when you give Shinigami blood to a vampire?"

Kid shook his head no, not even daring to speak.

"Well I'm sorry to say this Kiddo, but the answer is what's happening on the other side of that door. Our blood would recognize other blood as an intruder, even if it's the intruder itself, attacking everything until there was none of her blood left. It would kill her."

"Would? What do you mean father?" Kid asked, hopeful for his Maka.

Shinigami-sama sighed, "Because of her... abilities," Shinigami-sama started, trying to keep Maka's secret from the Kids down the hall, who were trying to listen in on their conversation, but failing, making it too obvious, "her body's purging it all right now. She's going to be better in a few minutes at this rate, but she just got lucky."

Shinigami-sama lowered his voice so he was certain only Kid and Blair could hear, and Blair only because of her super-hearing "Perhaps she should stick to a more natural diet, provided she doesn't kill anyone. It's for the best, Kiddo."

Kid's eyes widened once he realized what his father was implying. He bit his lower lip, worried about his friend. His father sighed once again and made another proposition.

"I understand she shouldn't go hunting kishen until she has a weapon so the souls can be harvested, but I think I can bend the rules a bit. She can just stuff them in a bag and turn them in to me or something, Deathscythe certainly hasn't had a soul in a week or so."

Kid stayed silent, looking through the door with guilt written all over his face. "It's really not my choice father, it's all hers."

Shinigami-sama nodded in agreement in understanding, "You're right, it's her choice. I don't blame either of you for what's happening Kiddo, you were just trying to help, so I wouldn't be too hard on myself, the most we can do now is just learn from this and help Maka out in a way that _doesn't_ involve donating blood."Shinigami-sama replied to his son before leaving him and Blair outside the bathroom door.

Maka nodded her head even though no one could see her; she heard it all.

* * *

Blair went into the bathroom, only to see a fully transformed Maka hovering over the toilet, shaking violently. Kid was right, she had look like hell.

"Hey sweetie, how are you holding up?" Blair asked.

Weary green eyes looked back into amber ones, and Maka forced a smile on her face, "Never better." She said, chuckling grimly.

"Well then I guess I could just not give you this B+ and save it for myself." Blair taunted, grabbing a thermos out of a messenger bag and waving it in front of Maka, the later snatching it up and unscrewing the lid, emptying its contents in 30 seconds flat.

"More, I need more." Maka begged, the blood starting to rejuvenate her.

"Calm yourself, Maka. The entire bag is full of 'em." Blair replied.

* * *

Maka had 3 more thermoses before she felt much better and changed back, thanking Blair. They walked out to see everyone waiting outside the door.

"You okay?" To her surprise, it was Soul who was the first to ask.

"Yeah, Blair here was just dropping off my medicine for me." Maka replied, pointing to the woman standing beside her.

"MEDICINE! WHAT MEDICINE?! IS MY DISCIPLE SICK?! ONE LOOK AT MY GODLY FACE SHOULD HEAL YOU-"

"Black*Star, shut up." Soul growled, motioning for Maka to continue.

"No, I'm lactose intolerant. I guess I forgot to take my meds this morning and the yogurt I had earlier must have screwed me up." Maka replied, it wasn't a total lie, she was lactose intolerant, she just hadn't had yogurt.

"Umm, Maka, who's this?" Tsubaki asked.

"Oh, Blair is a friend of mine, more like an older sister really. She lives with me since mama asked her to watch over me as well, and Blair usually travels wherever with me, so, yeah." Maka finished awkwardly.

Blair just waved "Hi kiddies!" Black*Star and Soul were having some trouble not oogling her generous bust and lucious curves, but she didn't seem to care, she never did.

Blair turned to Maka, "I should get going, I'll be home if you need me Maka." She said, before walking away and going out the door.

Maka was watching Blair walk away, and as such snapped her neck in Soul's direction as she smelled the sweet crimson liquid slowly drip out his nose.

Her eyes widened and for a moment emerald eyes flickered electric lime, but no one seemed to notice.

* * *

Maka was lying through her teeth, Soul could tell. If any of his friends thought about it, it wouldn't take from about 5 or so, when she would have been in her apartment, until 12 for the yogurt to bother her.

He didn't know why she would lie, but it was still a lie. She had to be hiding something she didn't want anyone to find out, or perhaps Kid knew already, since he and his father were speaking in hushed tones earlier.

Something about Maka just didn't sit quite right with him. She was different, not that bad a thing, but the thing was she was too different. She was an excellent student, great fighter, and she didn't fawn like every other girl that first met the tremendous trio of Shibusen: Kid, Black*Star, and himself, not that he was complaining about the different treatment.

It also seemed like Maka appeared out of nowhere. Sure, Spirit always spoke about his "baby girl", but Soul figured he was speaking about some little 8 year old, not nearly someone twice that age. She didn't speak much about her history unless asked. They knew nothing of her old life, except what she's learned, where she's traveled, and who she is on paper, nothing he couldn't find out from Wes, if he asked for information from the social grapevine.

Of course, she came to Death City, ironically the place you come to if you want to start a new life, almost completely fresh. And who was he to judge anyways? His friends barely knew of his life before Death City as well. If she wanted to escape her problems, he couldn't judge her, it was her life and he had no business sticking his nose in places were it didn't belong.

He was brought out of his thoughts as Maka snapped her head right in his direction. Soul thought if she did so any faster, she would have broken her neck. It was then he felt a small trickle of liquid coming out his nose.

"You're bleeding." She said, glancing at his nose a moment before moving aside so he could walk into the restroom and clean his nosebleed. As he did so in the sink, he decided he was just over thinking about a new girl being in their little family, and that she was just an overachiever.

_But still, emerald eyes shouldn't flicker electric lime like that, it must have been a trick of the light, right?_

* * *

WOOHOO! Finally back on track! I know I haven't updated in forever so I'm going to really try more, and perhaps I'll put up chapter 5 for "Only One", especially since I keep getting stuck and rewriting the chapters for this one like over and over before posting. I'll try to update one of my stories by sometime next week. Hope you enjoy and don't be afraid to leave a review! They really help to motivate me when I'm literature-ly frustrated.


	7. Chapter 7: Albarn The Apocalypse

I'm so glad you guys like this story so much. The first day after I posted chapter 6 I had four reviews! I know that might not seem like much, but I'm a small time writer for now, so it's really awesome to me. Some of you guys are probably wondering when or if Soul finds out, but this story's just getting started! And why has no one said anything at all about Alucard?! Do you think I add characters just to ditch 'em that easily? Triangle... how cute.

BTW someone PM'ed about "Patty" vs. "Patti". It's the same person, so it doesn't matter, but when I read other fanfics I have a tendency to spell Patty/Patti whichever way I have seen it more often in recent times, but for the sake a grammar, I'll spell it Patty. Jeez.

And I don't own any other media mentioned. I might have cameos from other anime. Maka's mother is very well connected like that.

* * *

"Hai Maka~!" Patty singsonged, excitedly waving a hand in the air at the older girl. The blonde meister looked up from her book and smiled at the younger of the Thompsons before also flashing a small smile at Tsubaki and Liz, who were standing behind her.

"Hey guys, what's up?" Maka asked, setting her bookmark and putting down her book to direct her full attention to her three friends.

"We should be asking you that Maka;" said Liz, "after all, I've gotten word that you were seen walking out of the Death Room with Alucard."

"Oh, that. We just had a business meeting with Lord Death, my mother, and his father." Maka replied nonchalantly.

Although the "business" meeting had ended a hour earlier, the entire thing replayed over and over in her head, plaguing her mind so much so that she couldn't finish a measly chapter in her tome. She could hear the fussing over "what was best" for her as if she wasn't there still clearly in her mind. Only Alucard addressed her as if she wan't someone's pet, and his reaction was not a pleasant one.

_"This is not a small problem, you could have died, Maka, **died**. I don't think you comprehend the severity of that. You are half-human! What if you're not immortal? What would you do then?!"_

_"Now calm down, Alucard. I'm sure we have all come to a consensus about the Shinigami blood thing, but I'm trying to figure out a way to **discreetly** bend the rules for Maka to go Kishin hunting without having a weapon partner. In the mean time, we need to figure out how to keep this under wraps."_

_"I believe she should just stay with her own kind. A young lady of her stature would easily make a fine member of Vampire society, I'm sure she would be set for the rest of her life, **transient or otherwise**."_

_"She is half-**human**, my Lord. She **is** with her own kind. I ask that you do not pass judgement so hastily, and give my daughter a chance to adapt. She is doing quite well, as I have heard from Stein, Marie, Blair, and **even your own son**."_

_"You have seen her at full form, Kami, she will **not age a day** past twenty-one! She will **not** die by something as **simple** as old age, nor does she react to weaknesses a vampire of her age would have! She can step out into sunlight **without even some semblance** of a burning pain, she has been gifted, Kami. Not every vampire had it so easy as she, and for that, I say it's impossible for her to die so easily. I do believe she has proven that by withstanding the negative effects of **Shinigami **blood. And to undergo **all** of it in such a short time is something truly remarkable! I'd wager even **you**, Kami, wouldn't be able to do that."_

In the end, it was decided she would stay at Shibusen as long as she could keep her secret. If she told anyone, however, she must give proof that they would keep her existence a secret, or suffer grave consequences before the entire Council, made up of the Lords Of Shadow, now that she was a dual citizen.

"Hey Maka? EARTH TO MAKA!" Liz shouted, snapping her out of her thoughts. Maka jumped as she looked back up at Liz, mumbling an apology.

"Are you okay? You've been more tense since about last week." Tsubaki said with the same tone of maternal worry she always used when Black*Star was doing something stupid, like standing on one of the DWMA spikes.

"Don't worry about me Tsubaki, I guess I'm just a little more stressed now because I still have to do my job, along with autonomous meister training, and then of course evading my stupid papa." Maka said with a smile. Even though it Maka certainly didn't feel as good as she seemed, her smile was genuine. She may not have known everybody for long, being only a week, but she was glad they cared enough to seek her out.

The ravenette merely nodded back in response, only a little eased by her friend's answer. Liz on the other hand, took in the meaning of her words, and was about to ask, but Patty beat her to it.

"Maka, what do you mean? What job do you have?"

Maka inwardly cursed herself for letting it slip, but she already had a cover if need be. "Well you see, since I'm supposed to inherit my mother's company sometime, I do some work for it in the meantime. It was partially why I traveled around all the time. I really just do whatever jobs they have lying around for me to pick up, especially when there's a lot of work to do in specific departments."

Patty hummed in thought, "You know Maka, you never really told us what your mother's company does. We told you how life was before the DWMA, I was just thinking that we should listen to you for once, instead of the other way around."

Maka nodded back, "Thank you for caring so much, Patty. Okay, what do you guys want to know?"

Maka wasn't stupid enough to tell the truth, but she wasn't stupid enough to outright lie either, she knew where to be vague and where to give details, she knew her false life story as well as she knew her name was Maka.

"Well, let's start with something simple," Liz said, "like who your friends were."

Maka's smile dropped, "I didn't really have many friends until I met Kid." Maka replied sadly. "As you guys know, I knew Kim because she helped me with the ... darker... tendencies black blood inflicts on people. Being the only heir to my mother's company left me with the expectation of excellence, and I always wanted to measure up to my mama. I look up to her a lot, and she's done so much with her life already that I guess I wanted something to be proud of as well. At first I took up ballet, gymnastics, dance, singing, and drama. Sooner or later I would realize it wasn't enough to just do them, I had to be good or it was pointless, even then I didn't feel like I was good enough, but I continued because I learned to like what I was doing. I ended up with tons of different areas of study, so I didn't have much time for friends. It didn't help that I wasn't like other kids my own age. I preferred to read or continue my lessons instead of playing, and I wasn't crazy about playing all day in the sun. I used to go to school, but others would whisper about me and how odd I was, and I pushed people away, not really caring anyways."

Upon seeing the collective look of pity aimed towards her, she continued on.

"There was one kid though, when I was younger. We met when we were 5, and no matter what I said to him I couldn't seem to tear him down like I did other kids. He was too dense to realize that I couldn't care less about making friends or not. Somehow, he saw through me, he saw that I was a sad little girl who needed a friend. We became the best of friends, he was a big brother to me. He helped me out when my parents split, that was when I was eight. When I was ten, I received a call from my mother's hospital telling me that he was in the hospital with a severe concussion, and that he was in a car accident. He was lucky to be alive, since neither of his parents made it. I visited every day for a month, he woke up one day and I the first thing I did was cry and hug him. He had a confused look however, and asked who I was."

Maka's voice cracked slightly, and her heart hurt knowing that she had found him, hidden under her nose the entire time. She could see him every day, but it would never be the same, no matter how much he had stayed the same over the years, he wouldn't remember her, not as she remembered him as kids. Maka gave a melancholy sigh before continuing.

"He had amnesia, and the doctor said that he should gain his memories within the week, otherwise they would be lost to his subconscious permanently. So every day after school I would visit and try to jog his memory. He gained most of his memory back, except for some people like teachers and such. On the seventh day, he still couldn't remember me, and I was blindly angry. He was the one other kid my age that I let in, and it was all gone, just like that. I coldly told him that he should just forget all about me; that we should have never met, and never become friends; that all of it was some fluke and that it was better that he doesn't remember me. At the time I believed it, and it was three days before I caved and went back to the hospital. The nurse informed me that the day before, he was adopted by a lovely couple from America, and that was the end of that."

"I'm sorry Maka, we should have never asked." Tsubaki said softly, melancholy.

"It's fine, I had to tell someone I suppose, get it off my chest." Maka replied, politely dismissing herself and promising to met her friends later at Deathbuck's cafe, once school ended. She left the room reserved for study hall and strolled to the library, scanning books while not really paying attention to what the titles were.

What hurt Maka most is that he didn't even care enough to remember the little girl who visited him in the hospital every day for a week, the same girl who acted like they were siblings because they might as well have been, the girl who told him off and was too late to apologize before he was adopted.

She certainly hadn't changed as much as he did in appearance; so she feels like he should have known, or at least shown some sign that he was curious about her. But that was Black*Star, bullheaded, stupid, ignorant-yet-sometimes-profoundly-deep Black*Star. He certainly didn't have that muscular build, let alone turquoise hair, and he smelled so much of cologne and sweat that there was no way she could tell that it was him when they first met here, seven years later.

The second she heard his name, however, she knew it was him. She had remembered all of their childhood together and then wondered if he was still has good as he used to be, trying to distract herself with thoughts of sparring and such. Maka may have seemed like he was a complete stranger, but she had been used to hiding her emotions for so long, pushing her humanity down so she could excel in the _other_ world, not entirely apart from this one: the other world were vampires and werewolves and everything else imaginable was real, the world were she was a guardian, a fancy term for the royal's attack dog, an assassin, if she was honest.

And because of that, she knew she had to keep him at a distance, she couldn't let history repeat itself. She would pretend that he wasn't once one of her favorite people in the world, if only for his sake and her sanity, because if the Vampire Ministry ordered another near-deadly "accident" on him, she couldn't _fathom_ how badly she would react, because he was once her brother, perhaps not in blood, but by soul, and in the end, the soul is what matters.

She was too deep in thought to notice the bell ring, and was only snapped out of her thoughts by a familiar "YAHOO!" Coming from the front of the library.

"Black*Star, would you quit running around like a buffoon and help us find Maka?" Kid asked exasperatedly.

Maka froze before quickly blinking away the tears that had threatened to fall as she thought to herself, she hoped she didn't have blood near her eyes. She walked out with a bright smile and turned to her friends, loosely clustered near the library doors.

"You guys don't have to look for me when Black*Star's that loud." Maka said, chuckling to herself.

"Damn right! How would such a loyal follower not find her god when he calls! Hyahaha!" Black*Star boasted loudly. Maka laughed, and silently thanked Death that school was over and the Librarian didn't care about the noise after hours.

"We thought we could all go to Deathbuck's Cafe together and take the limo there, so let's get our asses moving so I can get my damn iced coffee!" Said Patty excitedly, causing them to all walk towards the front of the school, to the limo.

On the way there, Maka felt a hand grab her wrist and pull her back, since Liz and Patty went off on a tangent on how amazing coffee was. She turned around to meet another pair of green eyes.

"Hey, Maka, I want to talk to you about something." Black*Star said. For once he was glad the attention wasn't on him so he could slip towards the back of the group with Maka, without anyone's notice. Maka merely nodded back in reply.

"Listen, I feel like there's something different about you, and I'm going to tell you something and I want you to listen." He started staring her directly in the eyes and her body stiffened. Maka nodded her head to signal him to keep talking.

"I used to live in Japan, when I was younger, but I had been in an accident when I was 10, and I was in a coma for a month. I couldn't remember a thing, complete amnesia, but I do remember waking up to see another girl my age."

Maka froze, she didn't expect him to care enough to remember that. He didn't show any signs before, but Black*Star always had a habit of doing things that no one expected him to do, or say. He continued talking.

"When she saw me, she was so happy and hugged the life out of me. When I told her I had no idea who she was, her smile faded into a frown, and even though she had sunglasses on, I feel like I could almost imagine the tears welling up in her eyes. She was a small thing, kind of like you, and blonde too. She visited me every day for a week, and I still couldn't remember for the life of me who she was. The doctor said I shouldn't have been able to remember anything that didn't come back within the week. She got angry at me the on the seventh day, or perhaps angry at herself, because no matter what she did I couldn't remember her. I remember she told me that it was best to forget about her, and that we should have never met and how it was a second chance to make things right or something like that."

Maka's heart started to shatter remembering the horrible things she said, let alone to Black*star, who was left alone in the world after the accident. She hung her head before she realized she shouldn't act so familiar with the story and looked him right in the eyes.

"The problem with that is, she kept me company for an entire week when I had no one else left. I might have had amnesia, but I wasn't stupid. I knew I was someone who meant a lot to her by the way she acted. She lit up my boring days in the hospital and helped me feel better, and no great god can forget it when their disciple helps them rise, and this god could never forget the name of that particular disciple. I never got to thank her, I was adopted two days later by the DWMA. I never forgot her name. I knew Maka was a common Japanese name, so I couldn't be completely sure, but now I'm sure. You have that same personality and that same temper and that same laugh and same smile like you did six years ago... Thank you."

Maka could swear she had never felt that emotional since, well... last week, when she had almost bitten Soul. Ever since she had moved back to Death City it seemed she was on an emotional roller coaster, what with her father, being the new girl, seeing Alucard again, seeing Kid again, making amazing new friends, and now this.

Tears threatened to spill, and Maka hung her head low, hoping Black*Star wouldn't see her eyes well up with red blood tears, perhaps mixed with more salt water as she didn't feel particularly vampire-y right at that moment.

Their friends looked up a few stairs at the duo just in time to see Black*Star engulf Maka in a hug. When they all wondered what was going on Black*Star covered for Maka at the moment, not sure if she wanted to deal with this right now. He knew that there was a good view of most of the city from there, so he simply said:

"She saw Spirit walking around with some slut from Chupacabra's."

Everyone seemingly bought it, knowing Maka's father had been a particularly sensitive subject, and that while Maka was strong, knowing what he does and _actually seeing him going to do what he does_ were two _entirely_ different things.

Maka took a few deep breaths before pulling away and going back to pretending everything was fine. Liz had a look of sympathy on her face. "Look Maka, if you don't want to go to the cafe and-"

"No, it's fine Liz. It means I have a chance of not seeing him until at least the day after tomorrow." Maka replied bittersweetly.

* * *

On the way to Deathbuck's everyone made idle conversation to get their minds off of Maka's situation with her father. She didn't like to talk about it, but everyone was surprised how Black*Star handled it. He didn't hug people often, and it was either reserved for his bromance moments with Soul, or for moments he found it important to actually give a hug.

As everyone ordered their drinks Kid mentioned that it was his treat. Liz and Patty smiled mischievously, and proceeded to order trenta mocha iced coffees, while also ordering for everyone else.

"I know Kid will want a tall skinny french vanilla coffee, but he'll want to make it 338 mililiters, since it's the closest symmetrical to the original 354. Soul will want a grande black coffee, as always. Black*Star will have a trenta hot chocolate..."

"But miss-" The cashier began.

"Yes, I understand Trenta is only for cold drinks, but you'll be saving yourself the trouble if you just give it to him in the trenta, trust me." Patty said all giggly, mainly because last time Black*Star made a huge fuss about it and sneaked his way behind the counter to do it himself, only to cause a huge mess.

The cashier took a glance at her manager who was at the register beside her, her pigtails that mirrored Maka's swaying a bit against her face in the process. The manager noticed the group and automatically just shook his head, as if to say, "just do it, you'll save yourself the trouble".

"Oh, and Tsubaki will probably want a caramel Deathuccino, make it a venti." Liz said, tapping her chin in thought.

"But what about you Maka~?" Patty singsonged. Maka in turn looked towards the front and waved to the cashier.

"Oh hey, Tsugumi! I'll have the youzhe." Maka said, (abbreviating usual) as she strolled up to make idle conversation with the cashier about how they have been, since the manager was able to get the other customers behind them by the time it was Maka's turn to order.

Once they all got their drinks, they sat at a semi-circular booth in the corner, from left to right sat Black*Star, Tsubaki, Liz, Patty, Kid, Maka, and Soul at the other end.

"What was that with the cashier?" Soul asked casually.

"When I'm in Death City for my job or just to stop by I get a coffee almost every night from this place. Tsugumi there usually works the night shift with Anya, or so she used to when I came here last."

"You have a job? Aren't you loaded or something?" Black*Star asked pretty bluntly.

"Black*Star! You shouldn't ask Maka-chan like that it's rude."

"It's fine Tsubaki. I would be curious too. It's no secret my parents are both successful, one more so because of the other, but still. I work doing extra jobs for my mother's company, usually just whatever's lying around. The company has 8 major departments: pharmaceuticals, hospitals, hotels, combat forces and special ops., real estate and architecture, technology, weaponry, and private investigation, which sometimes shares jurisdiction with combat forces and special ops. Of course, I can't work in certain parts like pharmaceuticals, hospitals and real estate and architecture, since they need licenses that I don't have, but I've done work for the other five. Mama only allows it though because I wouldn't stop bugging her about how I need to learn about the company, and she knows I can handle myself."

"Wait, you're saying you've done work in combat forces and special ops?!" Liz said somewhat loudly. Maka thanked Death that no one else outside the group was paying attention, nodding her head once in response.

"No wonder you always have a stick up your ass during our training classes." She responded with a smirk on her face.

"Not my fault, it's habit." Maka said, taking a sip of her Deathuccino innocently.

"I would say you're lying, but I'm kind of afraid to end up comatose from concussion by Maka-chop." Soul said.

"I know Maka's not lying; she was at the armed forces gala they held in Vegas two days before school started. She's actually quite a popular figure in the armed forces with those who know her." Kid turned his head to Maka.

"Wow, Maka, but what do you do for the armed forces?" Patty asked with wonder shining in her eyes.

"Well mama's a large benefactor, believe it or not, my uncle, my mama's real brother, was in the US military once. His weapon jammed and he and his partner couldn't get out of the complex that was set to blow. They died in the resulting blast, their bodies were nothing but ashes. Mama swore she would donate to the military and also try to manufacture better weapons so that things like that wouldn't happen. Personally, I've designed some basic parts like better grips and suppressors that virtually eliminates rapid fire recoil." She said, not wanting to give the other reason for why she was at the gala.

Kid chuckled, "Yeah, that and she's a prodigy in hand to hand combat. Nationally ranked as Japan's top MMA fighter in her division, she's not a bad shot either and trained some combat forces here and there. As I recall, the guys at the base had the most adora-"

Maka slapped a hand over his mouth. "Kid, please don't start with the nicknames! I don't want to sound like a pro wrestler or something, okay?" Kid nodded his then dismissed himself to the restroom so he could wash the taste of Maka's recently used hand sanitizer off his lips, or so he said.

Kid was still near the table and when he was sure Soul sat back down to block Maka from him he suddenly said in a mock wrestling announcer tone, "Albarn the Apocalypse! The Armageddon! Maka the Marine Murderer!"

When Kid said that, Maka shot him a glare before shooting up out of her seat trying to grab his collar, shirt, wrist, anything. Soul held her back as she shouted "I'll show you an Apocalypse all right!", as Kid ran towards the men's restroom and hid.

Maka collapsed back into the seat, sighing. "I'll get him for that later, I hear that next week we should be practicing hand to hand combat in Sid and Nygus' class." She said evilly, smiling an innocent yet somehow sadistic looking smile.

"So what's with the nicknames, Albarn the Apocalypse?" Liz said, smirking.

"Not you too, ugh, I sound like some luchadore..." Maka paused before relenting to everyone's interested looks.

"Fine, Kid already mentioned I'm a prodigy in hand to hand. My mother's company has a large department in combat forces and special ops, so the private guards naturally came from my mother's company. I was always admiring the work they did, or sometimes watching some in the training rooms as I wondered through the estate. I picked up some things and read and practiced when I was alone. Stein was the one who found me practicing one day, and mama surprisingly agreed when he offered to train me, along with others. I started learning self defense at a very early age and I guess it just stuck."

"Just stuck? Maka, shooting things just stuck with Patty and I and we aren't nationally ranked sharpshooters! When the hell did that happen anyways?"Liz said, a tone of disbelief in her voice at Maka's nonchalance.

"I was nationally ranked in MMA along with a couple other sections about two and a half years ago, at fourteen. As for training other combat forces, I started that at 13 within mama's company. After I was nationally ranked I was congratulated by a Colonel from the Amestris base, who mama knew from when she was younger. One day, he asked if I could do a little show and tell for the newer squadrons. I ended up accidentally leaving the Colonel with a nasty bruise on his chest because he got too close during demonstration. Anyways, after he got better I was asked to train the next batch as well. I did this with different US troops that fed into the base for the first three moths before going around the world for the last three, moving around almost every other week. During that time I had gained a couple nicknames that I will never live down. Kid already mentioned three of them, they sound so cheesy though. If I had to pick one that makes me laugh the most, it would perhaps be either the 'Herald of Death', or 'The Angel of Death', probably just because the irony is Lord Death was a reference on my transcripts to each base." Maka gave a small chuckle as she sipped her drink.

"WELL THAT'S NOTHING! I'M A GOD, AND A GOD IS GREATER THAN ANY ANGEL! HYAHAHA!" Black*Star boasted, and even though he had to admit he was worried, Maka had lean muscled arms, so she must have just caught the Colonel off guard, so since he was ready and determined he would win.

Kid seemingly walked back to the table out of nowhere, and it seems like Maka had calmed down so he took a seat next to Soul, just in case.

"Okay, Black*Star, but if you're going to fight her I made sure she had no books to hit me with, so she would be fighting you in hand to hand. Did she mention her short-lived boxing career? The reason why it's short-lived is she punches out of her weight class, too much of a danger for those in her division to continue." Kid commented.

"HYAHAHA THAT"S NOTH-"

"How the hell did you find that out?!" Maka shouted over Black*Star, leaving him too dumbfounded to continue, "The only ones who knew were Blair, mama, and... STEIN! I swear I'm going to dissect his tongue from his body and turn him into one of his own science experiments one day! That man has to be the biggest blab about me next to papa!"

"Actually, the Octo-finals were televised. I saw that match, you were holding back until round three. I wonder why..."

"Oh... but... I thought it was only the semi's and up that were televised globally."

"We were on a mission in Japan, so it was televised there. Liz and Patty were too busy online shopping to pay attention when I told them they would be able to know who you were if they just glanced at the TV."

"Heeheeheehee, Maka, you sound like you would be so much fun to spar with!" Patty beamed.

Maka smiled back, "I think I'd like that."

Everyone paled. Tsubaki was first to speak up, "Maka, do you know who Patty's been up against? And defeated?"

"Nope, but if you guys are worried about me and her going sparring, then I'll definitely spar with her." She said with a smile.

"Patty's gone against Sid and Nygus and they don't win unless they tag team or she gets bored and forfeits. And trust me, she also punches well outta her weight class, KO'd me good on several occassions." Soul said, warily eyeing the maniacal grin spreading on the younger Thompson's face.

"Sounds like fun." Maka and Patty both said with grins spreading on their faces.

"Wait, Maka, you mentioned the Amestris base? Isn't that the closest one to here?" Liz asked.

"Yeah, why?" Maka replied.

"It would explain why that guy over there is has been glancing in your direction since we said your name." She replied, pointing towards a guy with raven hair who seemed to be in his late twenties, wearing a blue coat decorated with medals on his shoulder. Maka turned around as well as Kid and Soul, because they were facing away from him. Kid smiled, and Maka seemed to beam up.

The two meisters didn't go unnoticed by the man clad in army uniform. He walked on over to the table and Maka and Kid stood.

"Maka, Kid, how's it going?" The Colonel responded.

"Hello Colonel, we're well. What a pleasant surprise to see you again." Kid said

"Hey Roy! How are you and the guys at the base, Elric and you still giving each other hell?" Maka joked.

"Albarn, that's colonel to you, Staff Sergeant." Roy Mustang said with a serious face, which turned into a grin when she stiffened and went into a salute.

"I was joking, at ease though. Yeah, I'm fine, still haven't been promoted obviously." He said pointing to the eagle on his shoulder. Maka sat down, as did Kid.

"As for the Elrics, Fullmetal isn't so much of a pipsqueak anymore, taller than you now. He was promoted to Specialist last year, and surprisingly his brother still hasn't needed to join or get anything other than an ID." Roy said gauging Maka's reaction.

"What the hell! I was there for six months and I need to have the title and uniform and Al doesn't. Ugh. How about Hawkeye?"

"Riza? She's been doing well, still uses those damn chops you taught her on me though. As for Hughes, he's still gushing about his daughter as always.. And the rest are just doing what they always do." He said with a smile coupled with a small chuckle.

"That's good. Oh, how rude of me! These are my friends Black*Star, Tsubaki, Liz, Patty, Soul and you already met Kid before. Guys this is Colonel Roy Mustang. He's the one from the Amestris base I mentioned." Maka said introducing everyone.

"Well I hope it wasn't trash talk." Roy joked.

"Well then I hope you don't count me mentioning how exactly I got my military job trash talk, then." Maka said with a sly smile.

"Oh, Death. She left me with a bruise a bit bigger than her foot on my abs and chest. This little lady has quite some kick to her." He then turned to Maka.

"I have to admit, even though my physical bruise is gone, the one you gave to my ego is probably permanent, but you have to admit, you aren't the average teenage girl, so I can live with it."

"Thank you for your mercy on whether or not to hold a grudge against a 14 year old girl who roundhouse kicked your ass." Maka said tauntingly.

"I'm not going to lie, you make it hard not to." He replied, checking his watch. "Well, I have to be on my way, Maes, Riza, and I have to go to Central this weekend. They'll both be glad to hear you're doing well. It's been nice meeting you all. See you later, Kid, Armageddon Albarn." Everyone who had just met the colonel politely said a parting in response.

"Goodbye, have a nice day, Colonel." Kid said

"Hey do me a favor, next time you see Ed, tell him I said he's still not as tall as Alphonse and it doesn't matter how tall he grows I'm still going to kick his ass. Tell Maes I hope he and his family are doing well, and tell Riza she still owes me a training session." Maka said. The colonel only nodded once in response, before turning to walk away with a wave over his shoulder. "Will do, Albarn."

"See you later, Mustang." Maka called out after him.

After the colonel was out of view, Liz asked, "So Kid, since when did you know people in the military?"

"Mama is sometimes too busy for the gala, I asked Kid to be my plus one the time before last." Maka answered.

"Like a date?" Soul supplied. He was hoping the answer was no, and at first her was happy with her answer, but Maka's indecision bothered him a bit.

"No,...yeah, not really... but kind of-" Maka couldn't really find a definite answer, she sighed and said. "Not a date in the conventional sense, more like... "

"So it was a date." Liz said, with a tone of finality. Maka groaned a little.

"Yeah... if your idea of a date is going to an armed forces gala where there's always war stories and all your superiors thinking you're of the higher up officers' kid or something because you're underage, only for them to realize you're a Staff Sergeant and go into one awkward situation after another." Maka said with a slight joking tone.

"How is a fourteen year old girl a Staff Sergeant?" Soul asked.

"I took a bullet for Colonel, we were checking out a place we dubbed Ishval, the people there weren't quite too friendly with the last group hey sent in so they asked for an elite group to make negotiations for hostages. We weren't supposed to have been attacked, but I noticed a red dot on the Colonel's chest, and pushed him down, it only hit my leg though. After that I thought I was going to get in trouble, I was always told to let the adults handle things, but instead I was promoted. Before that I was ranked a Specialist so that I could train troops, but my first week I went through the same training as the other rookie soldiers, firearms, obstacle courses, the whole shebang." She said, focusing on the logo on her coffee cup so she wouldn't meet the concerned faces of her friends.

"But Maka if you're wearing a skirt, where's the scar?" Patty asked.

Shit. She forgot that that wasn't on the official report. It supposedly was lost in all the sand, Maka made sure no one other than Roy noticed the wound, she said she hit her leg against the rock nearby while going to cover to buy her enough time to get some bandages out and wrap her leg as the others shot back. Luckily, Roy was one of her kind, and served her mother. He was able to control fire, and burned small holes in both of their clothes before blowing up a nearby empty vehicle, making a legitimate story to tell to the others.

"Upper thigh, barely visible nowadays, just a line going through a small circle." Maka said, knowing that this time, it was going to be a flat out lie. Vampires didn't scar and she hoped no one would see through her lie.

"DAMNIT! NOW I NEED A COOLER SCAR TO TOP THAT STORY! SOMEONE TRY AND SHOOT KID, THAT WAY IF THE BULLET MISSES ME HE CAN HEAL SO WE CAN TRY AGAIN!" Black*Star said while jumping on top of the table, pointing at Kid.

"Black*Star!" Tsubaki shouted his name both worriedly and partly embarrassed.

**"How about one of us just shoots you in the arm?"** Liz and Patty growled out simultaneously, giving off the unusual bad ass 'Brooklyn demons' aura they had always given off when they were thugs, smiling chesire cat smiles, ominous and creepy.

Black*Star gulped, "NOPE I NEED TO SAVE SOMEONE SO MY STORY TOPS MAKA'S..." He paused seeing the Thompson sisters still giving off some of that aura before continuing at his indoors voice, even though it was still a few decibels too loud. "I'll leave it for another day, though, I doubt you guys would shoot your own meister, shinigami or not."

* * *

The group spent some more time with Maka asking about what else she did, she mentioned she can get free hotel rooms at any one of her mother's hotels, and she gets to travel and see how some are holding up when there are concerns, which allowed her to multi-task on her jobs. Maka spoke of weapon design and how ridiculous some meetings were, and how she swears she's sixteen going on sixty, with how some adults get competitive and go to her for final decisions. "It's ridiculous..." Maka explains with a cheery personality throughout the rest of the time they spend there.

They make more small talk and throughout the day order rounds of coffee, just because it's Friday and they can. Maka learns that Tsubaki is a great cook, and they all decide on a small dinner together later that night. And after a ridiculous game of rock paper scissors, it's somehow decided to be held in Maka's apartment.

She knows its because Kid hosting would mean he'd be even more obsessed with symmetry, and Tsubaki and Black*Star's apartment is one of the smaller ones, since they barely get souls, and it was originally only for Black*Star. _'And Soul's apartment is probably too messy.'_ Maka muses to herself, remembering his backpack the other day.

It is only on the way back to the apartment, in the elevator on the way to the fourth floor with Soul, that Maka remembers that it's a full moon. SHIT. It's too late to change her plans now, she thinks with a heavy sigh.

"What's wrong, Maka?" Soul says. The elevator door opens and Maka hates that her room is at the end of the hallway, across from his. She thinks he knows something, but doesn't even know that he knows it himself yet.

"I just forgot something I needed to do, I'll get it done tomorrow though." Maka replies, looking dead ahead at the hallway rather than into his eyes.

It may be hard to explain, but his eyes seem to get a certain glint to them every time she tells her half-truths, or perhaps too much of the truth, like the Ishval story. It wasn't a lie, but of course, without evidence, who would believe you?

They walked to the end of the hall in a comfortable silence before turning to their doors and saying their partings for the moment.

* * *

When Maka closed the door a deep baritone voice came from the other end of the still dark room, she didn't need lights to see, she was part vampire after all.

"My, my Maka. Are you becoming a compulsive liar?" Alucard said, strolling up to her.

"No." She deadpans, changing into her full form, now that she can kick back and let loose. "It's me keeping them safe. _Alive_."

"Look at that, you're lying again." He teased. "But honestly princess, you need to be better, the white haired dog is on the verge of being suspicious of something, but he can't tell what. I know he knows you're different, he just can't say how yet. I already had to clean up a little mess you made being in full form that one time last week. I'm pretty sure you saying during lunch that you're an only child and then your 'older sister' miraculously opening the door is a pretty damn big hole in your story."

"And that's exactly why I asked you to fix it up and mesmerize him, I've done it before and I felt like he wasn't going to believe me, there's something about that guy, and I intend to find it out. I know he's on to something as well though, I can sense it every time I lie and that's why I asked for your trained me yourself, I would be able to put Blair in a trance with the training you gave me. It's something in his soul, it even flickers in his eyes, I don't know what yet myself... But, how did you find out?" She asked quirking an eyebrow in his direction.

"I read his mind of course, what else would I do? I don't sense souls like you do, Angel." He said, holding a joking tone with her.

"Haha, I guess that was an obvious answer. Now, Alucard, I don't mean to be rude, but what are you doing here? I would have figured you would just have some business here for a couple of days and leave, as per usual." Maka asked.

"What have I told you about questioning the Ministry, Maka? If I am here it should be obvious, someone needed to watch over you and why not your future husband?" He replied in circling her before wrapping his arms around her waist.

"Since when are you my future husband?" Maka asked in complete shock. Alucard placed a kiss on the back of her head before spinning her and bringing her to a dip.

"Of course, its not official my Angel, but it will be, just think about it for a moment." He says, bringing her up into his arms.

"My father would love it, your mother only denies it so you have free will, and I must say, personally I wouldn't mind it. I know with time you will come for me, you will want me as much as I have come to want you, and I know you're already lusting, you can feel it can't you?" Alucard says, breathing that last part seductively into her ear, sending chills down Maka's spine.

"Alucard, you must understand that if I marry, I want it to be of my own choice, and I am personally against the idea. I have not even had a boyfriend before and at sixteen no girl should marry, especially not if they can perhaps live forever."

He merely chuckles in response. "Sometimes I can forget how young you are, you're so strong, so independent, you would make a beautiful princess. I can't wait to see how you will be with your marks, I can see others cowering in your presence now as they bow and kiss you right here." He says gently, kissing her right hand, over her ring finger. It was a simple gesture, not just for forgiveness, but one of respect in this case. Maka blushed, flattered by this gesture, knowing that he valued her so highly. She was closer to becoming nothing but putty in his hands as he spoke once more.

"You forget, princess, vampires do not do something as simple as marriage, they are bonded. Marriage is breakable, a fragile thing. It is a fancy word humans use for what they would call any other animal mating. We, my dear, do not marry. To be bound is to become one, to be able to feel what the other feels, and be in perfect harmony, like an eternal resonance of the souls, running perfectly in sync. It isn't something to be taken lightly nor for granted, my dear, and that is why for you, I will wait." He says, holding a hand to her cheek. Maka somehow finds herself leaning into the touch, taking comfort in his presence, but she couldn't make any promises without uncertainty, and she would never do that to him.

"I am flattered my Lord, but you must know I do not wish to promise you something that might not happen. I would not wish to hurt you in that way." She replies, taking his hand in her own and kissing the back of his hand. She feels something for him, but she's not entirely sure what it is. "You must also remember that I'm only a half breed, what the others would think! I would not be happy if others spoke ill of you because of me."

"Do you remember when we first met? You must embrace your status as a half-breed. You were born immune to what fledglings must suffer through. You were born strong and beautiful, and let alone a grigori, you have nothing to be ashamed of, you were never weak, and I will not let you become so. Others should tremble in your presence, kiss your hand, and you ought to look down on them, because even I am yours. I will not lie, I want you to be mine, but I will respect your wishes. Just know that while you are not mine as I would like, you are mine in another way, Angel." He says, calling her pet name into her ear,and then kissing her neck gingerly before biting into it. Maka moans slightly, not able to help herself. She was part human after all, and she could not help but feel the pleasure of his fangs sinking into her neck, his venom running into her veins, giving her a wash of euphoria as he licks her neck to heal the wound.

Yes, she was of his bloodline. Alucard could just order her around, but instead he let her treat him as an equal, like any other normal vampire. He wasn't just any other vampire though, because no vampire could make her feel this intimidated yet safe, no other could make her putty in their hands. She knew she was already partly his, but it wasn't wholeheartedly. She chalked it up to her vampire half, lusting for Alucard, but loving? No, she's Maka Albarn, and she doesn't love men; human or other. Still, being fond of is close enough for him for now, as he wraps his arms around her waist, pulling her back to his chest and bringing his left wrist up in front of her.

"I hear you are dining with your friends tonight, it's a full moon. My blood should curb your hunger for tonight." He says. Maka tilts her head back so she meets his crimson eyes. He lets her know it is okay to drink from him, he offered, and she simply bites into his wrist. The sweet crimson quells the hunger she started to feel as the sun set over the horizon.

She releases his wrist from her mouth, licking over the wound until it heals, and brings the back of his hand to her mouth, placing a tender kiss upon it. He turns her to face him, and places a kiss on her forehead, covering his body from the rest of the world with his own, allowing her to melt against him, even though his skin is deathly cold.

"I must go now. The pup's already waiting at the door, and I'd rather not smell wet dog." He says, making Maka raise an eyebrow in question, to which he responds that she will find out on her own sooner or later.

Alucard leaves, seemingly into nothing but black smoke, but it's really how he gets around by shadow, and soon there is no sign of him ever being there. A knock sounds at the door, and she knows its Soul, Alucard has taken to giving him a nickname of sorts, but she doesn't understand why. She changes back, slightly annoyed that she can't show the real her to her friends, but its for their safety, so she deals.

She quickly runs to her room and changes into a black evanescence band shirt and jeans, nearly ripping her other outfit in the process, before opening the door. There stands Soul, who smells like he had just taken a shower and threw on his orange shirt, leather jacket, and random jeans.

"Hey Soul, come on in." She says, going into the kitchen and scanning through her iPad she conveniently left on the counter, leaving the door open for him to follow.

He walks on in to the living room, since the apartment is open concept he has a good view of the kitchen, and a very good view Maka's legs and butt in her skinny jeans. She may not have a generous bust, but her other curves make up for it.

"What'cha doing?" Soul asks, wanting to make conversation and not torture himself by looking at Maka's fine figure.

"I'm just looking at what I might also want to make, depending on what Tsubaki is going to show me how to cook, I'll make a complementary side dish." She said, scrolling through Kitchen King.

"Oh, that's cool I guess." Soul says, looking over her shoulder, she was currently looking at steamed clams in butter and sake. He had to admit, he was wondering what Maka's cooking was like.

Maka sensed two souls going down the hallway, Tsubaki and Black*Star, "Hey, Soul, go open the front door for me, please?"

He obliged, and was surprised to find Black*Star and Tsubaki at the door with some groceries, Black*Star about to knock on the door.

"DUDE! YOU HAVE TO SHOW ME HOW YOU DID THAT! I CAN'T HAVE YOU SHOWING UP A GOD LIKE ME!" Black*Star shouted.

Soul shrugged "Ask Maka, she just told me to open the door."

The trio walked in and Maka took some bags from Tsubaki and Black*Star, setting them down on the quartz counter top. Maka and Tsubaki start speaking about cooking, the guys listening as their mouths start watering at the smells emanating from the pots and pans on the stove.

Kid, Liz, and Patty show up and Maka and Tsubaki are still in the kitchen, they decided on a fully Japanese cuisine, and Kid offered to help cook when Tsubaki unusually cut her finger.

* * *

The two continued to cook and Tsubaki apologized for not being able to make the dinner she wanted to prepare for her friends.

"Don't worry about it Tsubaki! You've done most of the work, all we really need to do is add a few things here and there, and I can do the table-top dishes no prob." Maka replied sweetly.

She and Kid continued to work in the kitchen in almost perfect sync, and their friends took notice of their friends' actions. The pair of meisters were oblivious to their friends' gazes, stuck in their own little world as they cooked.

"Pass the salt." Kid said. Maka slid the salt along the counter and Kid caught it, adding a pinch to the food in the pot in front of him. Maka turned around to the other counter on the island.

"Pepper." Maka asked. Kid tossed the closed bottle of pepper behind him, and Maka caught it behind her back, unscrewing the lid and sprinkling some into the curry for the Kare Raisu.

They worked their way around the kitchen expertly, Maka chopped up some green onion with expert ease as Kid took a sip of broth.

"Maka taste this, I think it's missing something." Kid says, bringing a spoon of broth to her lips. She blows on it and tastes it, Kid feeding it to her. Liz gushed about how cute it was quietly, the other girls listening to her rant and the guys just watching and wondering how they weren't together, Soul somewhat jealous.

She taps her chin in thought. "Sake... It needs a splash of sake." She finally decides.

In no more than ten minutes the group is seated at the table, with everything from Yakisoba to Oden laid out on the table.

"Wow! This looks delicious you guys!" Liz says with excitement.

"Yeah, it looks delicious." Soul agrees.

They were halfway through the dinner when Tsubaki made a comment on how Maka had barely touched her food. While everyone continued eating, they still looked in Maka's direction at the head of the table, waiting for her answer.

"Yeah, I guess I'm not really that hungry right now, don't worry though, Tsubaki. Everyone please enjoy your meals though." Maka said, getting up to put her food in a little bento box, no doubt saving it for later.

Maka sat back at the head of the table, taking a sip of her sweet iced tea. She wasn't hungry, but she still was barely keeping down the human food she did eat, and that did not sit well with her. She needed to seem as normal as possible, so she forced herself to stay normal, not taking any chances, when Tsubaki cut her finger Maka ran supposedly to get a bandage, but it was really so she didn't have to look at the blood.

She was careful and sent Blair out for the full night, telling her to come back after the dinner was over, and Blair understood why and was perfectly fine with hunting until daybreak if need be. Maka just hoped Blair wasn't making too much of a mess.

Thinking about Blair getting to have blood while she felt nauseated wasn't the smartest thing to do, because her eyes flickered an electric lime once more, catching Soul's attention, since he sat on the first seat to her right. He merely kept eating, but made a mental note of it as everyone continued to eat in a comfortable silence.

"So, I have been looking for the right time to tell everyone." Kid started

"YOU AND MAKA ARE DATING?! I KNEW IT!" Liz shouted putting a triumphant fist in the air.

"No, Liz. I'm quite sure he would have said 'we' if it implied myself." Maka deadpanned, causing Liz to pout.

"As I was saying, Stein, Nygus, Sid, and my father have come to a conclusion on Maka's spartoi assignment."

Maka's eyes lit up, Kid now had her full attention, along with everyone else's. "When did you find this out! Why didn't you tell me first?! I've been waiting forever! Do you know how annoying it is not being able to do the team exercises in our training periods?!"

"Calm down Maka, I found out this morning. Anyways, even though your test scores were exceptional, Nygus likes to see what a person is actually capable of. During your entire week in our physical training classes, Nygus recorded what you did and how well you did, as well as how hard you worked. Your final analysis came from her and Sid, and they decided, with all other things considered, that you're Alpha team material. Of course, everyone needs to accept you into the team." Kid finished, making Maka's eyes widen, she wasn't expecting to be in the same group as Kid, but would everyone accept her? It was truly a moment of truth as Kid, who was the first seat on Maka's left, looked to his left, at Liz.

"No surprise there, I was expecting it. I say she's in." Liz said with a grin on her face.

Patty who sat on her sister's left, nodded so viciously it looked like she would snap her neck. "Hell yeah!" She shouted.

Black*Star, who was across from Patty, smiled "IF MY GODDESS SAYS YES, THEN YOU ARE A WORTHY DISCIPLE, JUST DON'T TRY TO OUTSHINE YOUR GOD!" He shouts out happily, but a tad too loud as the neighbors knock on the wall, letting Maka know they must quiet down.

Tsubaki happily accepts, "It would be great to have you with us Maka-chan!"

All eyes then fell on Soul, who gives looks blankly at everyone, like he didn't know what to do, then again, he always had a sort of passive expression on his face.

"What?... Obviously my answer is yes, it's cool to know another person who flies solo." He says giving everyone his signature smirk, showing rows of sharp teeth. _'Like a wolf,'_ Maka muses.

Maka smiles brightly at everyone, her canines just a little sharper than others' but not noteworthy like Soul's. "Thanks guys, it means a lot to me."

It was true, within the course of a week they managed to break her walls, even when she tried to convince herself that they weren't her friends, that they were just stupid humans. They made her realize another thing as well, if she didn't like humans, she was rejecting part of who she was. She may have started being nice and befriending them for Blair's sake, but within a week she did it for her own as well. She finally was learning to get along with others for the sake of friendship again, and not just self gain. She felt cared for and she found herself caring more and more each day. Lying to them bothered her more, and was now about their safety, not hers, because she didn't want to end this.

The rest of the evening passes by with everyone enjoying themselves, making small talk, telling stories and laughing at Black*Star as he is Maka-chopped off the table, twice.

It's all a lovely evening, until someone dies.

* * *

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

I know !I know! I said one week and its been almost two, but my mother was recently admitted into the hospital so I'm kind of busy with family matters. I'm not going to apologize though because I can't control these things and family is important.

HOWEVER, I know you guys probably want to kill me for leaving you guys with that ending, but it is so necessary to the story. I mean if you have a vampire/ other supernatural creatures story without death, you're going to end up with a VERY shitty story in my opinion, especially when a main character is a grim reaper! Well the next chapter should be up in the next two weeks as well. Be glad I stayed up till 4:50 am to finish this and make sure I don't make this long ass story too confusing! lol, well bye!


	8. Chapter 8: Soul finds out

So I have to say that I'm a little disappointed, I figured a chapter like that would get more reviews. I mean come on, I just killed somebody! (In my chapters of course... lol). I hope you guys don't kill me for this one, actually. NOW READ THIS CHAPTER, ENJOY IT, AND REVIEW!

* * *

Maka's head snapped towards the window that was left open to let in the cool night breeze. A sudden shriek resoated with the sound of the wind and the crickets in the background, going unnoticed by the others.

Everyone else paused in their dining as Maka shot up and went into her room, gathering her whip, her long black coat, her throwing knives, a small backpack, a couple of magazines filled with ammo, and her pistols. Both of the black pistols have intricate silver engraving lied on either side of the barrel; one with the words "Black Rose" on the left side, and the words "Every Rose Has Its Thorn" on the other. The other gun is identical save for the engraving, on the right it holds the name "Still" and the saying on the left.

She strode out her room three minutes later, armed well, and grabbed the Kilij that hung on the wall of her living room, sheathing it on her right hip, opposite the whip. Everyone at the table took a good look at her before giving her questioning looks. She merely sighed, uttering a "follow me", going to her balcony and jumping off.

Everyone except Kid went wide eyed and ran to the balcony, despite the dropping temperature as the sun set, only to see that Maka was at the bottom unharmed, her whip hanging off a second story balcony below them.

"WHAT THE HELL IS SHE THINKING?! WAS SHE TRYING TO GIVE US A HEART ATTACK!" Liz screamed, thinking her friend had just purposefully flipped herself over the bars because she was obviously fucking crazy, or stupid, or suicidal.

"Well, if Maka thinks that there is something worth checking out, I wouldn't doubt that it's something important." Kid said, summoning Beezlebub and standing atop it.

"Liz, Patty, transform please." The sisters each nodded before transforming into twin pistols, held upside down (and symmetrically) as usual in their meister's hands. He descended as Black*Star and Soul started to complain about how they were supposed to get down as Tsubaki merely started running down the fire escape on the second balcony, jumping over the stair railings to land on the next set before touching ground and catching up with the other four.

Black*Star and Soul soon followed Tsubaki's example muttering about how everyone was "showing them up" and how it was "so uncool to get ditched", respectively. As they caught up with the group and slowed down to a stop, just as Maka was done coiling her whip, and brought out her pistols.

"It's still close by, but its a faint trace, I can't pinpoint where." Maka says, stalking forward, her eyes glinting against the lamp's lighting every time they dart to another sound or hiding spot.

"What is? You're being cryptic." Soul points out, hoping its not what he thinks it is.

"It's a kishin, but if its what I think it is then there's not just one, there will be a whole pack." Maka replies.

"Great. I hope that its not a kishin and I get my wish, it's a fucking pack of them." Soul mumbles, his arms transforming into scythes as Tsubaki becomes a katana in Black*Star's hands.

Maka steps off the walk way and makes her way onto the open lawn, going closer to the forest. Everyone follows, becoming more wary of their surroundings as they leave the safe light of the walking paths, and further into the open lawn, the sun barely illuminating the sky as it sets over the horizon, the moon already on the other side of the sky.

"There's going to be a body in a few more steps, so if you're squeamish I suggest bracing yourselves. I'm going to need to take a look at the body to see if I'm correct." She says, sounding purely scientific and doctor-y like Stein does when he launches into a scientific discussion.

She stops and bends down. Everyone looks in her direction to see a disemboweled body of a young woman, her blood still gushing out and seeping into the ground. Her head, as well as a chunck of her neck, lies a few feet away from the body, her eyes still open, mouth posed into a scream. Her short brunette hair is messy, but not on her face, which only has one set of claw marks; compared to the rest of her body, her head is relatively clean.

Soul and Black*Star can't keep their food down, and hurl as far away from the group as they dare venture in the dimness of the lawn. Liz and Tsubaki, both now in human form, try not to think about it as they hear the sickening slushy sounds of vomit hitting the ground, mixing into more of its own. They try their best to keep their own food down, especially Liz, since Tsubaki is used to taking care of Black*Star when he's sick. Kid and Patty merely stand guard, not bothered by the sounds as much as the dead body Maka's examining.

The upper half of the torso is completely detached form the lower half around the belly, the layers of skin and fat around there also shredded up and opened to reveal a bloody mess of organs, blood, and bile, which spill out onto the ground between the upper and lower half.

The corpse's thighs are shredded to bits, while the left calf is completely missing, its twin bent at an odd angle, obviously broken to the bone. The foot that's still left is surprisingly still connected, barely, at the ankle, also twisted at an odd angle.

The arms are another mystery all together, while they seem to have small bite patterns between the elbow and wrist, they seem more like defensive wounds, and her hands and shoulders are unscathed, as well as her more... unmentionable... areas.

It's quite odd, but she's seen this work before. This was the work of a kishin Maka dubbed "The Devil's Puritans". They were frightful creatures to those who first laid eyes on them, making them that much more deadly. For some reason they always preferred to attack targets that were young women and men, but usually women, always leaving the genitals, butt, and breasts if they were women. Their main prey: those who were probably going to hell because they were too afflicted with lust and being whores. They didn't mind killing others in the way or a stray person when they couldn' find someone that suited their pallet, for kishen they were quite the picky eaters.

_'I just hope papa doesn't run into the pack.'_ Maka thinks grimly.

"You guys, this is going to sound really wierd, but none of you guys have had a history of whoring around, right?" Maka calls out behind her.

"WHAT THE HELL KIND OF A QUESTION IS THAT?" Soul shouts from over his shoulder, back to standing guard, even though he's nauseated.

"Well, the kishen we're dealing with hunt in packs, and are highly intelligent considering they resonate. They eat almost the entire body, picking out what they leave behind, and the soul goes to the pack leader while the rest get the body. They work as a team so that one becomes a full kishin and the others would benefit as well, it takes more time, but its less of a risk and that's why they do it like that. They also like to eat the bodies of the more... promiscuous population, usually young men and women, more commonly women. They're not afraid of taking out whatever is in their way though." Maka replies, shrugging off her backpack before placing some hair into a bag, and taking two vials to the gushing blood, tightening the lids and pooping them in another bag. Looking around she notes chunks of meat with some cloth covering them a couple of yards closer to the forest, the kishen had just ate the first body

"So do we know what to look for?" Kid asks.

"Yeah, just look for a blackish-blue figure, shaped like a panther but it has six legs. Their tail has an end like a spade and they like to stab with it, but only the pack leader will siphon out your soul. They're named spade-tails because of this. Their heads are more wolf like and they have three of them, four eyes on each. Long claws, fangs like sabers, and they are also striped, so they blend in well with shadows. They shape-shift into human form, so anyone you don't recognize that's very pale, and dressed in a wispy blue-black cloak should probably be killed on sight. I suggest you try and hack through their bodies quickly, before they grab a hold of you." She replies, having packed her samples, her backpack back on her back, and her pistols in each hand.

"What happens when they get a hold of you?" Tsubaki asks, now in Black*Stars hands as a chainscythe.

"You end up shredded like her. They'll eat everything except the more... intimate parts. I think virgins get eaten as a whole, they're not 'tainted' like those things would say. We seem to have interrupted their meal, they're going to want to attack us, so be careful." Maka says, her eyes flickering around.

She's able to see perfect as she can in the day in the moonlight, but how can she protect all her friends? She understands they can hold their own, but the pack is sure to prove quite a challange.

A twig snaps to Maka's right, and she catches the sight of a spaded tail. She looks a bit harder to find the body, and when she does, her suppressed pistols start firing, one round each and a thud and a cry are heard in the distance. Soon enough, Maka can sense the souls, and even though they are resonating, she can find each individual soul, all 28 of them. They are rushing closer toward the edge of the forest, and one stops nearby the one Maka had shot.

It doesn't take any information from Maka to know that they're coming, as the pack makes shakes the ground beneath them, making a sound not unlike a roll of thunder. Soul has his arms in scythe mod, and Black*Star and Tsubaki were poised to strike and Kid was ready to shoot anything not human (or vampire hybrid in Maka's case) on sight. Maka had her guns also ready to shoot, aiming at the forest for anything that moved.

The light rustling of leaves to Maka's left catches her attention, her eyes focusing on any movement form the direction. She briefly hears a low growl and turns around just in time to see one of the large beasts bounding towards her, and barely evades with a tuck and roll, landing in a low crouch. The creature slides on the grass, made slippery and wet from the blood of the missing body. The spade-tail turned and leapt just in time for Maka to fire a bullet right between its eyes.

Problem was, however, that the momentum generated by the beast was great enough to make its carcass land right on Maka, pinning her down to the ground. She shuffled a bit under the weight of the large creature, and quite a heavy one as well, since these creatures were almost nothing but muscle. She was worried as to whether or not she should act as if it was a little hard to wiggle out from under the creature, or if it wasn't worth the wasted time and effort. Seeing the large pack starting to attack her friends, who were trying their best to keep them at bay, made Maka just push the carcass off her and go off to fight more.

_'Two magazines at 10 bullets each, minus the three I used, 17.' _She calculates, shooting spade-tails as she runs around, killing whichever ones she can. She barely gets six, as the beasts' bodies are wrapped in muscle, and her bullets, though special made, are barely enough to take them down. Then a resounding click from both pistols sends Maka swearing enough to make any sailor proud, and enough to attract the attention of a spade tail.

Soul hears Maka's colorful string of improvised cursing, and chuckles as he stabs and slices at one of the beasts, leaving none in his immediate area. He turns around to find Maka checking herself quickly for more ammo when he sees a shadow behind her move. It's no shadow, he soon realizes, as it is one of those creatures getting ready to pounce on her. His legs carry him as fast as he can in her direction. The beast takes off in a sprint and launches itself towards Maka.

His muscles burn as he pushes himself to his limit for that extra 'oomph' he needs, hoping he can get to her in time. The next thing he knows, the air is cut with not one but TWO 'wooshes', and the beast's body is on the ground in five separate pieces. He had cut off all three heads from the body, going clean through the necks, but only when he saw Maka did he know she was responsible for the thorough cut right across it's abdomen.

Crimson eyes meet her forest, now seeming to spark with electric lime again. As his eyes scan her body to see if she's okay, he notices the blood that must have spewed out onto her body, the paleness of her skin creating a stark contrast against the tainted blood of the kishin. In her right hand she holds her kilij, much more like it was a dagger than a twenty-three pound sword.

She nodded once to him after a moment of holding his stare, as if to say: "Thanks, I'll remember this for later."

She took off as Black*Star shouted at one of the viciously growling beasts, which in turn said beast pinned him down to the ground, Tsubaki's chain being the only barrier between him and six rows of snarling teeth. Swinging the kilij down it's center, Maka split through flesh and bone alike, grabbing the upper half of the carcass by the scruff of the middle neck, tossing it aside like it was nothing so Black*Star wouldn't wonder how she got out from under the other one.

He went off proclaiming about how his godly self will reward his disciple for her help, and Maka used four of five of her knives to make another beast drop, the thin blades not causing enough blunt damage the torso for it to immediately are now six left. The full moon is tugging, calling to her inner vampire, and while she's not particularly hungry, the hunt is invigorating, like a burst of adrenaline to a runner, or a cup of coffee in the morning. Deciding one blade isn't enough for another beast, she relies on her kilij, hacking and slashing at whatever beast comes too close, killing two before a cry of pain pierces the air.

When she turns around, she is met with the sight of a weary Soul, fending off the pack leader and clutching on to his chest, bleeding out, and fast. At that moment, she doesn't care to hold anything back as she run toward his now collapsing body, the beast's tail getting ready to stab him as he is pinned down by two large paws to his shoulders. Maka tackles the creature, effectively causing them to roll in the ground and slide on the wet grass, now stained by the blood of many spade-tails, before coming to a grinding halt. She in now on the beast's back, and it gets up, trying to shake her off.

Her friends and new teammates finish off the other three, the alpha now the only one left, and run to Soul's aid. None have the expertise to aid his deadly wound however, and he's losing blood fast, his orange shirt now stained a very dark shade of crimson. They can only put pressure on Soul's wound, and watch as Maka holds on for dear life atop the beast, afraid of accidentally hitting Maka if they attack it.

_'This thing's making it seem like a damn rodeo.' _She muses as she reaches for her last throwing knife.

Then, as she is about to stab the spade-tail with her makeshift dagger, it jerks, causing her grip to loosen and the knife to drop to the ground. Deciding the kilij would certainly need two hands to cut through the unusually massive creature, she bring out her whip and coils it around all three necks before pulling on it tightly. Within half a minute, it lays on the floor, using up all it's oxygen from the struggle. Maka takes this moment to wrap her arms around the middle head, which always held the one brain the creature had, and snapping it with a sickening crack, turned a complete 180 degrees, black eyes now facing her own.

As she gets up the creature's body wraps up into a floating red soul, followed by the bodies of the other creatures. She ignores the looks her friends give as she runs towards them, or more towards Soul. Her backpack, somehow still on, supplies her with a compact mirror, which she tosses to Kid.

Black*Star's yelling about his loyal follower's injury and rants about "how he dare steal the spotlight" from him, grates Maka's nerves, barely hearing herself think, let alone what Kid is saying to Stein.

"Black*Star, shut the fuck up or I'll denounce you as a God. You want to keep a loyal disciple alive, we would appreciate it if you run and get me one of my knives." Maka barks at him, causing him to be deadly silent as he runs to the spot where a dead carcass once was, grabbing four knives, just in case, and swiftly running back as Maka takes off her coat.

"He's so going to hate me for this," Maka muses as she pulls up his blood-soaked shirt and rips it open, as well as the arms of his leather jacket since it will only get in the way.

She takes her long coat off, and asks Tsubaki to help her tie it securely around his body, covering the large diagonal scar caused by the beast. Though the cut wasn't too deep, the sheer length of it, running from his shoulder to almost the top of his hip, was enough to soak his orange shirt.

She sent Black*Star to get the whip she had dropped in her haste to get to Soul, and for the moments she waited, her thoughts went to the blood in front of her. It seemed darker than usual, but maybe it was the lack of oxygen from his shallow breathing, or perhaps just the darkness. The metallic smell of his blood permeated the air nearby, but what only Maka could smell was something different, something she knew before, but couldn't quite place. But as Black*Star returned, she cleared her head of the thoughts of blood and returned her focus to the task at hand.

She uses the whip to secure the coat, and tries not to move his body as to open the wound more. She feels frustrated, knowing that she could heal her teammate so easily, but she can't since the others would see. It would be so simple, to give him her blood and watch him heal and come back just like before, but if she did, her friends would be in danger, and she couldn't risk everyone else's life just to save Soul's, and put him back in danger again. It hurts knowing that she is completely useless, and she can't move him or she might cause him to bleed out even more.

It's a couple more minutes before Stein arrives with Nygus, and they gurney Soul to one of the school's surgery rooms.

Almost everyone's in tears, and Black*Star is completely silent, except for the occasional muttering of "Come on, Soul, you bastard, you still haven't seen me surpass God yet." and the like.

Kid and Maka also don't cry, Kid staying strong for his friends and having a gut feeling that Soul will pull through, because he just HAS to pull through, because who else is going to deal with Black*Star's antics, or be the main victim of Maka's chops, causing Kid to chuckle and be surprised at how his friend can get back up so quickly now. Who else is going to complete the terrible yet terrific trio that all girls fangirl over, who else would come up with crazy and cool schemes and pull them off with them? Who else would talk him into crazy shit? No one. No one else could replace his best friend.

As for Maka, she wanted to cry, but she couldn't, not with everyone else around, she would cry because she didn't like seeing her new friends in pain, whether physical like Soul's or mental like everyone else's. She'd seen people die, she was used to war and death and pain and suffering, it was a fact of life, but somehow Kid's best friends started to become her own. They accepted her into the little family, and even though they could get annoying, she loved them like a family just the same.

She felt her eyes start to water and hung her head as she sat in the waiting room for what was three hours now. She, like all her other friends, refused any care they could if it would distract Nygus and Stein from Soul. Since Kim was out on a mission, and Maka was the only other nurse, Maka had taken care of her friends' cuts and bruises before her own, since she knew she had none. Black*Star's arm was scratched shallowly, so she stitched it up, letting him know it wouldn't scar if he just applied some cream to it. Tsubaki, Liz and Patty were only a little dirty, since they were in their weapon forms, and Kid's reaper powers allowed him to just look dirty and tired like the girls, without a scratch on him.

"Aren't you going to care for yourself, Maka?" Patty asked, clearly worried about her friend, who should have been taking care of herself more instead of doting on her friends, in her opinion.

"No, I was pretty well covered up during the fight so if anything I might have a small cut or two, I'm more worried about you guys." Maka responded tiredly yet firmly, as if there was nothing that would make her change her mind, and there wasn't. She made sure her friends were all taken care of, getting coffee for all of them so they could warm up and also stay up to know Soul's condition, whenever it would come out.

And as the time ticked by, and her friends all got tired, she stayed up to get some fresh blankets, covering them all to keep them warm in the sterile white, cold, waiting room.

Stein came out to see his goddaughter putting blankets over each of his friends, causing a warm smile to cross his face, something that didn't happen all too often, and usually freaked out students when he did. He calls her into the dispensary, away from the others so as not to disturb their slumber.

"Maka, he's going to live, but..."

"But what?" She cuts him off, wide eyed, waiting for the worst news she can think of.

"The damage he's taken to the chest was a little too much, the profuse bleeding let him slip into a coma, he's lucky to even be alive right now." He explains.

As the full meaning of his words set in, a single blood tear runs down her face, and she automatically responds, "What if I heal him? I saw his blood, that can't possibly be normal, it's..." she trails off, not sure of the right words to say.

"That's actually an issue I was going to address, you see Maka, Soul is also a carrier of black blood, but only a select few know why, not even Kid. Its not my secret to tell however, and so I can't tell you much more other than that. His blood's not fully active however, it's somewhat in a semi-dormant state, he's strong and very resilient because of the blood, and it seems that it won't heal something this major now. It has only done so once before, anyways, so I wasn't expecting it to." Stein says, his words making Maka realize just how he was different from everyone else.

_'No wonder why it smells different, and it wasn't just any normal reason his blood is darker than usual. It's black blood._' She thinks, assuming its the answer to everything.

"So is that a yes?" She asks, hoping that her blood will work.

"It's more of an unofficial yes." Stein replies, leading her to Soul.

* * *

As the sun rose over the horizon, bringing in a warmth through the waiting room windows, Maka was still awake. She didn't need sleep at the moment, and she went hunting in the forest after her loss of blood. The night before she cleaned herself off in one of the unused rooms with a private bath, going to shower and then changing into the black scrubs she wore now before giving Soul some blood, and afterwards changing into some other clothes because Stein practically had to force her to hunt after all that blood loss.

She showered after hunting in the forest once more, changed into her black scrubs again, and immediately sat down next to Soul's bed, diligently and dutifully checking his IV, heart, and breathing rates when scheduled, watching him for any signs of discomfort or pain, and even bringing a spare change of clothes with the help of Black*Star (because of all the things she couldn't do, it was figure out the chaos of a teenage boy's room) for when he woke up.

She was surprised she didn't need to slap a hand over Black*Star's mouth when she woke him up at the ungodly hour of six thirty-six in the morning for something so trivial. The truth was, he did it because it was so obvious to him she needed to stay busy or she would break down. What Black*Star never mentioned, not even to Maka, was that he noticed one stray tear on her face from yesterday afternoon, he really didn't want to bother Maka more with asking why she cried dark red blood instead of water, and chalked it up to the black blood, which no one still really knew how she got "infected" with it. Nevertheless, he kept his mouth shut and returned to sleep when they came back, still exhausted from those stupid beasts from earlier.

She was currently bringing coffee from the Deathbuck's in the lounge, exactly how everyone liked theirs in the morning, as she noted from their last sleepover. Maka set the tray down on the table in the room, her and her friends still the only ones in he surgery corridor's waiting area. It was a few minutes before eight, and so she walked into Soul's private room to check on him before she woke up the others.

Soul looked peaceful in his sleep, except for when he shifted and scrunched up his face in temporary pain. Her blood really fixed him up, shortly after, he wasn't in a coma so much as a deep sleep, the surgery and fighting really taking a lot out of him after he threw up the night before. She was glad she could help without much negative effects, for some reason her blood hadn't activated the other black blood, and she was glad he was going to be fine. He was going to scar however, it wouldn't be hideously red after it healed, more line a thin white line with stitches across his chest.

"Go figure, you're the one with the active black blood and he's the one who benefits." A baritone voice says from behind her, not quite startling her as she could feel his presence when he came in as nothing but mist at first.

"Please, my Lord, do not wake him. He helped me in battle, I can not say I would have avoided injury if he didn't lop off the damn creature's heads." Maka replied gently, hoping he would listen.

Alucard was a tad bit miffed that she was becoming so fond of the little pup, but since she asked nicely, he would comply. "I understand, but you can't keep doing this, you know. What if he were to die with your blood in his system?"

"He won't, none of them will die as long as I'm around them. I'll make sure they won't, because they've given me a family, and here in Death City, I feel like this is really home, like I can actually say I look forward to going _home_ and _seeing my friends_. I was never truly able to say that since I was younger, and I've missed that feeling more than I care to admit." She replies, looking out the door window to her sleeping friends forms out in the waiting area, and then back at Soul. He squirms, and so she tucks him in again as his covers are askew once more. His face is scrunched up in pain, and he whimpers, so Maka checks his clipboard, gets something out the cabinet, and gives him a shot.

Her tone is so grateful, so bitter-sweet that he can't help but feel a bit jealous of the humans, because they have given her more than he feels like he ever could in some ways. He didn't like that they were stealing away HIS Maka, the one he came to love as a vampire. Now, she was acting so human-like, he didn't appreciate how she had hidden away her vampire side; he believed he should revel in the dark. She would surely make a fine princess of the shadows. His expression remains stoic however, and he says nothing in reply, because he's afraid it would sound too bitter, and he didn't like being read like a book, which Maka happens to do quite easily.

"You must remember, I'm part human as well, and this is a part of me that I can only be around them. I only lie to protect them, and if it means I get to spend some time with them, then I'll lock away whatever part of myself I need to away until I can no longer hide it. I know its selfish to lie to them, but I don't want this to end. Let me enjoy my time in the light, because there will come a time when I won't be able to anymore, and when that time comes, I'll stay by your side for the rest of my time. They are not stealing me away, so you have no reason to be jealous." She says, not looking at him the entire time as she replaces Soul's IV.

When she turns around after a moment, she finds he is no longer there. What she doesn't know yet is another person overheard the conversation.

* * *

Soul awakes groggily, but doesn't open his eyes; they feel too heavy right now and all he wants to do is sleep in the bed. He feels pretty comfortable, except for this one feeling of pain as he breathes, and the awkward feeling of something cold in his hand. It's kind of cold, but the chill is gone as somehow a cover is lifted back up to his chin. His chest hurts during one particularly difficult breath, and it begins to burn. Soon enough he feels a pinch on his arm and the burning ceases. He is too tired to process anything other than basic feelings at the moment. It smells clean, and he remembers the previous night's events, but he can't remember what's a dream and what's his actual memory.

He thinks he went to bed somewhere between dinner and seeing Maka jump off her balcony, because things got weird after the latter. Soul's mind is just barely awake enough to hear a voice, a female voice, but he only catches bits and pieces as he fades in and out of sleep.

"I'm part human as well... lock whatever part of myself I need to away ... I know its selfish to lie..." He realizes its Maka's voice and suddenly he finds the will to stay up just a little longer.

"Let me enjoy my time in the light, because there will come a time when I won't be able to anymore, and when that time comes, I'll stay by your side for the rest of my time."

He can only guess what she means as sleep overtakes him and he drifts off.

* * *

Kid wakes at ten (Maka got a little sidetracked) to see green eyes staring into his amber ones, and everything that happened immediately returns back to him. Maka lifts a finger to her lips, telling him to be quiet, and she whispers to him, handing him a new coffee (she drank like three herself and gave up, getting new ones), which is now not scolding hot, but not lukewarm either. She waits until he is done taking a few sips before she speaks, worried about Kid's reaction.

"The surgery went well, but put him into a coma at first. Stein told me about his... condition... and so I offered to help, Stein even said he was going to ask me, so don't start with anything." Maka says, her tone scolding on the last part.

Kid smiles warmly, his eyes flooding with relief, "Thank you, Maka. How is he holding up now?"

"He's no longer comatose, just in a really tired sleep. His chest will scar, but only a little bit. As for the pain, I had to give him his scheduled pain killers, he was whimpering, the poor guy. He keeps messing up his bed sheets and then shivers, so I've tucked him in like every time I go check his pulse, breathing, IV, everything really. He no longer needs an IV, I took it out about half an hour ago, I'd say." She mentions, both having a small smile at the fact that he's alive and well.

Maka is about to wake everyone up when she notices that she hears the heart monitor flat-lining, and her ears aren't just ringing. She runs into the room, Kid yelling at everyone and they all wake with a start, alarmed, and run after Kid, who ran after Maka shortly after.

The problem is, when Maka runs in, she finds Soul's bed is empty. She's about to freak out, finding that he's not in the private room, and goes straight to the phone before hearing a tired and agitated shout of "WHAT THE FUCK BLACK*STAR! GET OFF OF ME! I CAN'T BE HUGGED THIS HARD PATTY! LIZ, DO SOMETHING ABOUT YOUR SISTER! KID DAMNIT, TSUBAKI! ONE OF YOU TWO HELP!"

Maka looks further down the hall to find that Soul went to the bathroom, perhaps when she went down stairs to get some coffee again, since all the other times she cared for him like an overbearing, doting mother. She steps out of his room, breathing a sigh of relief before yanking both Black*Star and Patty off of Soul.

He breathes normally once more and looks in between Black*Star and Patty to find Maka, holding each by the back of their shirts. Its only when he realizes his friends look pretty roughed up that he knows none of his memories from last night were a dream. Maka, on the other hand, looks relatively clean in black scrubs, her hair pulled up into a bun with a couple loosestrands of hair framing her face. Nevertheless, she still looks worn and perhaps even worse off than the others.

"You guys look terrible." He replies, chuckling at how beaten down his friends look, but being that he was the one who was hospitalized, he thinks he has no right to talk.

"Yeah, well we were all worried about you, and you should be in a wheelchair or attended by staff, its protocol." Maka replies, before adding "Well, since you're awake, I'll check your vitals, give you your change of clothes, and have Nygus prescribe something for your pain."

Before she lets go of Patty and Black*Star she wraps her arms around their shoulders as she warns them "Be gentle with him, the scar could re-open if you're not, and we'll being going through all of this all over again, and if I have to work another night shift, he won't be the only one in the hospital, got it you two?" She says, ruffling up the hair on their heads.

They each give a nod.

"Okieee Maka!" Patty says.

"Yeah yeah, whatever you say, _nurse Maka_. While you're checking his vitals, you might also want to assist him with putting on his clothes, you know, _protocol_ and all." He says, laughing like a hyena as Maka and Soul both turn beet red.

Maka grabs Soul's hand and walks with him over to his room, everyone following along and talking to Soul. She sits him down on the edge of his bed. She of course drops her stethoscope as she retrieves it on the other side of the room, and Soul discovers that Maka has a nice ass no matter what she's wearing. He looks away quickly before his friends notice he was looking, only to notice everyone else sort of was looking too. Everyone turns away and looks somewhere else as Maka gets up, wiping off the stethoscope with a alcohol wipe and checking Soul, as well as changing out the bandages on his chest.

She makes sure she's extra careful taking them off, not wanting to hurt him, and he's glad he doesn't have Kim as a nurse right now, she'd probably be using magic to rip off the bandages like she did last time he was hurt. He could have sworn that he had third degree rug-burn. She wraps his chest up snugly, and when there are no scissors nearby, he turns a finger into a scythe and cuts it for her.

After a few comments from Liz, and one too many nurse jokes from Black*Star, she reminds them that they have coffee waiting in the room and they better drink some because she spent a lot of effort getting the right drinks for everyone and making sure they don't spill. They leave, thank death, because Maka and Soul's faces are flushed so red they would put a tomato to shame.

He suddenly remembers what he heard Maka say earlier, and she has this feeling his wants to ask her something important.

"What? You know I'm bound by nurse-patient confidentiality, so I won't say anything if it's something embarrassing." She says with a smile, serious but with a playful edge to it.

"I was half awake earlier, or at least I think I was. I could have sworn I heard your voice, and you said something like 'you're part human as well', and how you 'will lock part of yourself away', and then about 'how it's selfish to lie'.' Soul says, putting air quotes for each part. He pauses to gauge her reaction.

Her eyes widened for a split second when he quoted her the first time, before she looked him straight in the eyes as he was talking. He can see the determination masked behind the interest in her eyes, she's hiding something. She nods her head and thinks for a moment.

"Well that's an interesting dream Soul, perhaps you are just curious about my past or something? Maybe it's not my voice, or perhaps it's a metaphor for somethi-"

"Cut the crap, Maka. It was too real to be a dream, and you're random conjecture proves it." He says, a little harshly, as pulls herself away in the rolling chair, sitting exactly how Stein does, just not falling over all the time.

"What makes you say that?" She questions.

"I could feel the burning I feel in my chest now, just it was more painful, and it was cold like it is now, and the IV that I had earlier was probably the thing bothering my hand. I'm not stupid Maka, now what the hell were you talking about?" He says, raising his voice just a little.

At that moment, a deep baritone rings in her head. **_'So the pup finally figured it out. Do you want me to take care of_ it?'**

_'No, Alucard, My Lord, I will deal with this and swear him to secrecy, I can't have another innocent life on my hands. I beg of you, please give me some time.' _She sends back.

_**'You have until tomorrow at sundown. If he tries to tell anyone who doesn't already know, we will kill him.'**_

"I guess there's really no way to hide it, you're going to find out if you were to keep snooping around eventually and I doubt-" She cut herself off, about to tell him about entrancing him, twice, but she needed to be careful about approaching this subject.

"Kid, I need you in here, you must have ordered the cabinet symmetrically again and I can't find Soul's medicine." Maka shouts out the door.

As soon as Kid strides in, she closes the door and locks it quietly, so as not to alarm anyone. Soul raises a brow, and when Kid looks at Maka, he finds her head hanging low. He was worried about this. "How'd he find out, Maka?"

"He's got a general clue, heard me talking to Alucard. I knew he was suspicious of me, every lie and half-truth. I don't think I could make him forget, he's different, it must be the black blood, but he was going t find out, it was a matter of time." Maka replies, still finding her shoes more interesting than either of the young men's faces.

"Will someone stop being so damn cryptic about everything and just tell me what the fuck is going on?" Soul asks, weary.

"It's not easy to say, Soul." Kid says.

"What? Maka's your long lost twin sister?" He jokes, only for Maka to give a hollow "Ha."

"I wish it were that easy, being a grim is better than, hell, anything is better than being me." Maka mopes, finally looking up at the albino.

"What are you then?"


	9. Chapter 9: Invoking the Codex!

I hope you guys don't hate me for cutting the last one short. I actually had this one added on to it but it became too long so I made it into two chapters and decided to edit this one while you guys read the last one. I also know I put full moon in the last story, and a full moon is once a month... I completely missed that and let's all just pretend it was a NEW moon.

OOOO Maka's got some explaining to do!

* * *

"What are you then?" He pauses. "You're not another witch, are you?" Soul asks cautiously, Kid and Maka both shake their heads, and Maka seems a little insulted.

"Oh Death no! I'm a dhampir." Maka says, causing Soul to lift a brow.

"Oh, for Death's sake, she's half-vampire!... Idiot." Kid says whisper-shouting exasperatedly. Soul burst out laughing, only for him to find Maka's and Kid's faces still as stoic and serious as ever.

"You're not joking... are you?" Soul says, causing Maka to shake her head 'no'.

He goes wide-eyed and backs up a bit. "What? But you work as a nurse! Is that how you get your blood?! Kid, did you guys really practically feed me to her?" He's not shouting, but not so quiet either.

"Will you shut up! Do you want the entire hospital to hear you!" Kid says at a whisper-yell once again.

"For your information, Maka can eat normal food too. And the only reason you're not in a fucking COMA is because of her! Hell, you're probably somehow still _alive_, because. of. her! Before you start accusing her of things she hasn't done like an uncool douche would do, how about you sit down, close your mouth, and fucking listen!" Soul immediately obeyed, not having been on the receiving end of Kid's anger since they first met. His friend was usually very composed, and Kid wasn't one to start flipping shit over things that had nothing to do with symmetry. Soul decided he would at least try to act civil and keep calm.

"Maka, you can go on now." Kid said politely, a warm smile towards her direction as she thought of how to put everything into words.

"Well, I'm a vampire-human hybrid. The only one recorded birth in our history, its rumored there have been others but usually in the lower level vampires, so I'd think one of their children would be condemned to death, or worse. Kami is my real mother, and Spirit is my father, supposedly his weapon abilities allow me to transform and grow in the womb and that's why I'm possible. I do have a grigori soul though, that's not a lie. I'm what's known as a noble-blood, they are people who were turned by royal-bloods, pure bloods, progenitors of our... species, I guess. Mama was turned by Alucard, and because I'm a natural birth, I was given the title of noble-blood as well. Alucard's father is the King of all vampires, you know him by Dracula, and Alucard was his actual son."

"Okay... but how are you able to walk in sunlight? Eat garlic? and how-"

"I'm only half-vampire. Our kind gets stronger as we age, as a hybrid, I get the best of both, somewhat. Only the newest of fledglings actually burst into flames in sunlight, it makes older ones sizzle, only bothers the eyes of the even older ones, and doesn't harm vampires after about seventy-five years or so, depending on how often they go out into the sun. Sunlight will sometimes bother my eyes if my vampire side is acting up, like when I wore my sunglasses all day that one day last week, I told you guys it wasn't a hangover... Garlic's a myth, it just smells very pungent and we have a strong sense of smell. I will age until I turn twenty-one, whether I'm a full immortal or can only stop aging is yet to be found out."

"What about mirrors?" Soul asks, completely filled with wonder.

"I'm kind of like a weapon in the sense that I have two forms, this one, and my true vampire form, when I'll be twenty one. You once saw her as my older sister, but after I mentioned being an only child, I needed you to forget it all. I asked my Lord if he could perhaps entrance you to forget, because I made you think you had a nosebleed at the club, so that I wouldn't bite you, and I didn't think I would be able to pull it off a second time. The other form can't be seen in any reflective surface, not just in mirrors. Somehow Lord Death can see me when I speak through the mirror in my other form."

"Your lord? Who's that?"

"Alucard, he started my bloodline, I owe all that I am to him, as do my mother and Blair and all others in my bloodline."

"So Alucard's a vampire too... figures, I always had a bad feeling around him, but Blair? huh, go figure...You said if you weren't a noble you'd be dead?"

She hums in agreement "Master is a pure-blood, a royal, its natural for him to seem threatening. He probably takes that as a compliment. The vampires in my bloodline are known for their raw power and abilities. We are also some of the most blood-thirsty. Alucard is old enough to control himself, to control the thirst, but not many make it past being a fledgling, when the blood-lust is strongest. Vampires are also protective of their fledglings, so when they found out about me, Mama killed two commoner vampires that told her I ought to be considered no better than a familiar. Mama wasn't charged of anything because she's a noble and they were just commoners, ones who were stupid enough to cross the line with her. Truth is, many others think that way, or perhaps think I am just the beginning of a new, in-between, race. It was worse when I was younger, but I guess it subsided a bit when my bloodline was revealed; no one really dares to mess with us. We may be few in number, not as large a group, but Master isn't one to be taken lightly. I am lucky enough to have him supporting me on the topic of my treatment as a vampire."

"So... what exactly have you lied about?" Soul asks awkwardly, not really finding another way to put it.

She hums in thought, "Well some weren't full-blown lies, like how I met Kid. I wasn't here in Death City because papa brought me along for business, it was because Lord Death didn't really know how to tell Kid about vampires. I mean, come on, there's so many myths and lies we make up to hide our existence its not easy to just say we exist. He also needed to explain why Kid needs to go alone for reaps, because Lord Dracula doesn't want us being found out, and well... we do kill from time to time." Maka says awkwardly, before continuing to a lighter subject.

"I also, being a vampire, don't scar. Cuts will heal unless done with certain things, but they still hurt. I'm really not sure about the difference in pain, for example, if I were to get a wound like yours, I'm not sure if it would hurt as much. I'd also heal up immediately. But I did save the colonel. Vampires have super-speed, I was purposefully kind of slow with Black*Star and Kid the first day at PE."

"THAT was... slow?" Soul says, Black*Star's ego would be so destroyed right now. Funny, he could practically hear Black*Star shouting about how he must get better and surpass God. He probably was of course.

"Our eyes can turn a different color when we are hungry or our vampire instincts or abilities kick in. Mine will glow a bright green. So if they do seem to spark with light every once in a while it won't always mean I'm hungry... thirsty. We can see almost as clear as day in the dark, we prefer night and don't necessarily need to sleep at all. Being a hybrid, though, I still like to sleep, and sometimes will do so instead of feeding if I'm more tired than thirsty. Coffins are cliche, but I do like cozy spaces and have slept in one... don't judge, they're actually kind of roomy. All our senses are heightened, Black*Star's yelling could burst my eardrums if I honed in on just his voice right now, that's why I'm tuning him out. I heard Free's conversation with Kim and that's why I bolted that day. We are very fast learners, probably why I do so well in school."

"So what's with the army/warrior stuff, and the black blood?"

"All nobles MUST have some sort of duty in the society. Mama runs the companies of Japan that are owned by vampires, making sure we have money coming in and it partially keeps our existence secret. When you can control so many areas of nations, you have eyes and ears everywhere. As for myself, I took on the role of guardian at 10. Basically, we're like a small vampire army, commanded by our bloodline's progenitor, and ultimately by Dracula. If by chance you don't know your own progenitor or yours is dead or sleeping, you are placed under another royals' command."

"What's a guardian?" Soul asks, tilting his head.

"I was right, you are ever so curious... Well, it's like a soldier, but not. We can do anything from guarding royals to hunting the kishen that threaten out territories. Territories meaning hunting grounds or dwelling places. We need humans to survive, so we don't want them dying on us. All guardians protect royals with their lives, however. We are military dogs, trained to take a mission and do it without error. I took up jobs traveling, to help get rid of kishen and rogue vampires. It was how I survived for a while after separating from Kim, the black blood that all vampires have makes us want blood, so she used to make me blood tablets and mix some potions for me. I still do whatever jobs my mother's company has laying around, just I do the jobs that best befit someone with my particular skills. In Japan, I usually assassinated the mafia men that dealt drugs, humans are no good to us that way, withering and rotting in their own shells. I took comfort in knowing that they were the same as me, monsters in human form, in some way or another."

"Maka..." Kid said her name in a warning tone, before crouching and meeting her forest green eyes with his own amber ones. "You aren't a monster, you drink blood in the same way that people eat meat. Stop being so self-deprecating and dramatic."

Maka cracks a soft, appreciative smile back at Kid, thanks him, and looks back at Soul. She can't help but to take a peek at his soul, which seems calm, apprehensive, but calm.

"I usually eat food whenever I can. I wasn't too fond of the idea of drinking from a human, let alone a living being, I still have problems with it sometimes. I remember having to stomach it and hating myself as I grew used to it, found myself liking it in my vampire form, but if I thought about it with too much of a human's point of view, I would find myself throwing it up. Even now, I usually don't feed off humans. Hell, I've been a vampire for seventeen years and I don't even have a familiar! Usually it's either animals or kishin blood for me, it may not be as satisfying, I'll admit, but it gets the edge off and I have no problems with it."

"And familiars are...?" Soul asks, dragging out the last syllable to show he needed some explanation.

"...Blood is EVERYTHING in our society, it's what keeps us alive... undead, it's a drug, it's our healing elixir... it's also what make our kind bound to each other. All vampires also have some sort of bonds, written in their blood, I guess you could say. We are connected by blood where humans would label themselves as friends or enemies or even lovers. This can be spread to humans and animals as well..."

Soul merely nods, trying to understand where she's going with it.

"If a vampire bites a human regularly, they are just feeding. Sometimes a vampire will inject some of their blood as well, it claims the human as theirs, and eventually their familiar. Usually, the human will find themselves having feelings for their vampire master, because of the blood bond. Once the blood is worked out of their system, it may fade away as long as the vampire isn't in contact with them. If the vampire stays into contact with them, they will likely still hold feelings for their vampire master, and the vampire will most likely continue to feed off the person, exchanging some of their blood in return. That is what is known to our kind as the Ceremonia Osculor, or Sacred Kiss. The bond is breakable in early stages, but after the third time the bond is sealed, and this is where I simply can't have a familiar and not feel guilty."

Maka's tone was a little saddened as she continued to speak, a couple of blood tears falling off her face as she neared towards the end.

"Familiars are fiercely loyal to their master, or masters if more than one vampire has claimed them, which is illegal unless you have reasonable cause and can prove to the Ministry that there is no cause for alarm. Familiars have feelings for their master, and their views on their master are quite complex, ranging from lover to paternal figure to both. It depends on the vampire, the familiar, and their relationship. Usually, it is one sided, or the vampire is only fond of their familiar at most. Familiars can act as whatever job they are put in, but usually become servants. They never speak ill of their master, always believing their master cares for them, they are supposed to be treated with respect, but behind closed doors, they could be abused and the vampire could get away with it, because a familiar would never testify against their master. They have little free will, and it's pathetic. They were free once and they became a familiar, whether for a fix or because they were forced. A familiar is a dog in human skin, they would rather be put down by their own master than have their master killed for a crime. I guess I can't be so hypocritical, I would rather die by master's hand than see him die as well, and the thing is I know its the bond, but one does not simply feel obligated, it feels more like a desire, a need, almost."

Maka wiped away the two stray tears of blood from each side of her face against her black scrubs' shirt. Soul noticed the blood tears but didn't say anything about it. He truly felt that she didn't mean any harm, and that she was like everyone else, but had her differences. Besides, his best friend was an immortal Death God, who was he to call her weird or anything?

Soul's gaze shifted to Kid as Maka put her head down onto her arms, lazily crossed over the back of the rolling chair. Kid looked at Maka with some sympathy, he stepped once to his right and placed a hand on Maka's back, rubbing over it soothingly. Maka's face was stoic, plainly gazing back at Soul and Kid like she couldn't care less, but her eyes seem to storm. Soul could see the fear, anxiety, and sadness hidden behind the brilliant jade. She was as human as any other, Soul realized.

After a moment of silence, Soul was the first to speak. "There's just one more thing I need to know, why are you here?"

Maka looked back at him with an arched eyebrow before lifting her head up to reply. "While I can eat human food, there are certain times when it's nearly impossible for me, or won't really help: when my vampire side acts up, when I have lost lots of blood or am injured, and on the nights before, of, and after full and new moons. I understand, last night was a new moon, but master gave me some blood when I realized my mistake of allowing you guys over. It's not something that happens often, because those nights I'm usually alone, or I keep myself well fed, and so I didn't have any hunger. However, blood is still appealing during that time, but its like eating when you're not hungry nor stuffed. Blood can become a drug to us, our kind, and so drinking in access is looked down upon anyways. I feed on kishin blood usually, its efficient when someone'll probably need to get rid of them anyways. Of course, if I'm in Death City or near other bases, it becomes much more difficult to hunt kishin, and even then I might run into others during hunts in other places. So, Lord Death and Kid offered me acceptance into Shibusen so that I could hunt and not have to go weeks without blood. It's not healthy, especially if you're cathemeral... active during the day and night."

Soul's crimson eyes studied Maka with absolute silence for a whole three minutes, each seeming like an eternity in their own right. The atmosphere was thick with tension. What if Soul decided not to keep her secret? She couldn't have him die, not because of her inability to keep a secret. She'd sooner forfeit her life to the Ministry than have any of her friends put to death.

"You cheated on our bet, but I'm guessing it wouldn't be valid to the others to just say you did, and it wouldn't be cool to tell a secret that's not mine to keep... So by keeping your secret I'm getting out of the one favor I owe you." Soul says decidedly, with one of his signature grins at the end.

Maka's face brightens considerably, and she lets out a breath she didn't even know she was holding in, even though it's not really necessary to breathe. Soul expected the huge smile on Maka's face, but what he didn't expect was for a gentle weight to be on him before he had time to blink.

Maka had gotten up to hug him, and used her vampire speed to do so, which would have startled him if he had time to comprehend she was gone before she hugged him. It was a gentle weight, she wasn't hugging him tightly in fear of hurting his fresh wound across his chest, and perhaps of breaking his back. He was too surprised to find her hugging him that he didn't really care that he could feel her breath on his neck as her head was against his shoulder. He just then realized how much sense it made that she had cool skin, both in tone and in actual temperature.

"Thank you Soul." They were barely audible, muffled by the fact that her head was against his good shoulder, but he caught those words and soon found himself hugging back. He didn't care what she was, she was still the same old Maka, maybe a little different here and there, now that some pieces of the puzzle fit together, but ultimately she was the same Maka he came to know.

"I'll go now, it's been much too long and they'll wonder what's taking so long." Kid said, happy two of his best friends didn't grow apart because of this whole mess, but rather seemed to be on the contrary. He walked out and stalled for Soul and Maka, saying that the medicine wasn't even in the cabinets he arranged, and Maka had asked for his help in her search for it.

* * *

~Time Skip~

As they group all walked out of the hospital, Soul now discharged and allowed to stay at home and rest, they all chatted animatedly walking towards the apartments.

"YOU HAD US FREAKING OUT FOR A MOMENT THERE, MY DISCIPLE! WHAT WOULD MY GODLY SELF DO IF YOU WEREN'T THERE TO SPREAD MY KICK-ASS WORDS!" said Black*Star, who was towards the front of the pack of friends.

Soul chuckled at his friend's twisted way of saying "don't ever scare me like that again", to which he replied, "Are you _kidding_ me, you could probably spread the word yourself with how loud you are, now quiet down you're starting to give me a headache."

Maka, who was beside Soul, towards the back of the group, creased two fine golden brows in worry towards Soul, before shooting Black*Star a warning look. Black*Star immediately, and visibly, calmed down a lot, even speaking at a normal tone of voice.

"Sorry man, I forget how my godly voice can be too big for some people." It was impressive how he responded for Black*Star, because he would usually retort with another loud, arrogant comment, not more maturely as he did now. Everyone just assumed it was because he somehow knew she was going to Maka-chop him if he kept being a buffoon. They did seem almost like siblings, with the way they got along.

"Hey Maka? Why'd they discharge Soul so soon, anyways? Overnight and then most of the next day isn't enough time to recover." Liz asks, seeing Maka worry over Soul like a doting mother.

"Soul's wound wasn't deep, but rather long. The bleeding out and dehydration from vomiting is what got him. However, he's going to probably miss a couple days of school since the stitches don't allow him to move around much, and he'll be going home early for a while since he only has training and study hall as his last three classes." Maka informs Liz, who's muttering something that rhymes with "ducky dastard" under her breath.

"He actually is really lucky sis! Think about it, if he bled out too much he would probably have died! And then who would Maka nurse back to health being all sexy-nurse and stuff?!" Patty says, making Maka blush a fierce red and mutter about how she was in her scrubs and this wasn't some teenage boys' dirty fantasy and the like. Soul was blushing as well, just trying to make sure he didn't get a nosebleed, and thank the heavens he didn't; he didn't need to lose more blood nor lose his cool rep just for thinking about Maka in a sexy nurse outfit.

"What's with the sexy nurse thing, Patty?!" Maka asks, her now light blush very pronounced on her porcelain skin.

"Well Maka, even scrubs can't hide two words I like to call... DAT ASS hehehe~ anyways, everyone was looking when you dropped your stethoscope. It's kind of hard not to look when you bend down, Maka..." She says, Maka now putting her scarlet red skinny jeans to shame. Patty adds in a "no homo" after a moment of silence.

Maka thanks Death when Black*Star decides to steal the attention away from her, and everyone is going along with it. They about halfway down the Shibusen steps, since Soul is trying, even though the waist of his jeans rubs uncomfortably against his bandages. It's not long before he almost trips and Maka catches his wrist, pulling him back up gently, putting his left arm on her shoulders so he has some support, and she's glad she brought deodorant for Soul now, especially since it seems taxing for him to go down each step.

"Thanks, Maka, but you guys don't need to wait on me, I live in the apartments and they're just down these steps, a left and down the walkway a little bit." Soul says, obviously not liking the feeling of being babied, or being the weak one at the moment.

"I get it man, let's go home, Tsu..." He says out loud, muttering "he's trying to be a man wrong, let him learn" under his breath, for only his weapon partner to hear. It was moments like these in which she found out how wise he was, even though he seemed like a total idiot. It held some truth, because it took a good man to stand on his own, a great one to admit he needs help to himself, but an even greater one to admit he needs help out loud and ask for it. Of course, Black*Star believed that this rule applied to men mainly, not Gods, but when he did ask for help, it was usually hers.

Kid, Liz, and Patty also noted that Soul was getting frustrated, but were more hesitant to leave. Kid knew Maka was going to be as stubborn as Soul, if not more, and decided to leave him in her more-than-capable hands. He flew away on Beezlebub, leaving Soul to round on Maka.

"What about you, you could be at your house in a flash. Why wait on me?" Soul says, a little irritated that he's practically helpless, he's useless at the moment and he doesn't like it.

"I probably have all the time in the world, I'm in no hurry. Besides, I'm still supposed to be taking care of you when needed, Stein told me to keep an eye on you and I'm not going to start ignoring orders just 'cause I'd get away with it." Maka said, looking him in the eyes, her jade orbs boring into his garnet.

"Liz was right, you do have a stick up your ass about these types of things." Soul said, chuckling a bit.

"No, I'm just not stupid enough to ignore orders when its best to follow them." Maka defended.

"You gave me vampire blood, remember? I should heal no problem, then, or according to you."

"Yeah, about that, there are other things you should know..." Maka said, her voice betraying some worry.

"What sorts of things?" Soul replies; he continues to go down the steps, careful not to move too fast.

"Well, I didn't want to mention this, but if the Ministry believe you won't be able to keep my secret they'll try and kill you... If my blood is in your system when you die, you'll-"

"Then there's no worry, I can keep a secret, let alone one that's not mine to tell." Soul cut her off, the worry etched onto her face easing.

"Alright, but you should also know that while I didn't drink your blood, I've still given you mine. For a short while, there will be side effects, not bad, but still. You'll have enhanced strength, speed, healing, and generally you'll have your senses heightened temporarily while my blood's still in your system. However, you might find yourself... drawn... to me, it's the blood. It creates a small bond, it won't connect our wavelengths, but its kind of strong. Give it a day or two and it'll all be back to normal."

"Tch, I'm cool with whatever happens because of it. I forgot to thank you, by the way; I'm thankful you helped me as much as you have." He says to her, his crimson eyes boring into her own jade ones. She blushes lightly and looks away, still walking slowly alongside him.

"You're welcome. Soul, hey I-" She stops, suddenly looking around them in the slowly dimming light of dusk. Her eyes flash an electric lime and she seems to become a different person, her friendly and innocent demeanor replaced by a more threatening one. Soul notices how her fingers twitch as if ready to grab a weapon from her holster, one that currently doesn't exist.

"Maka, what's wrong?" Soul asks, stopping a moment after she did.

"Soul, why don't you stay over at my place, you can stay in the guest room and I could keep an eye on you, and Blair could help when I'm at school and-"

"Will you just tell me what's going on?! I know its not nothing, Maka." Soul says in response to her nervousness.

"Alright, but not out here in the open." Maka replies. "We'll go to the apartment and we can talk there. Now come here because I don't like it here right now and now I don't have all eternity." In one quick movement she lift him up and he's suddenly being piggy-backed by Maka.

"You'll want to hold on. She'll follow us soon and I honestly don't need to deal with more of her shit." Soul wraps his arms around Maka's neck at her first command, but her second comment causes him to ask, "Her? Who's her?"

Before she answers, Maka is running to the apartments with amazing speed, Soul can feel the chilly winds against his face for a couple of seconds before he finds that Maka had ran all the way into the lobby, since the student apartments were more like a hotel. They were around an awkward corner that led to a dead end, perhaps put there because of Lord Death's love of jokes, but extremely convenient in this case.

No one was around to spot them, much to Maka's relief. She gently placed Soul back down and straightened herself out before turning the corner again, leading Soul along to the elevator. As soon as she turned around, however, Maka was met with a pair of red eyes, and they didn't belong to Soul.

In front of the two was a girl Soul had guessed to be seventeen or so, but he had a feeling that she was well past her teens. Her red eyes were complimented by her coral red hair, the sides pulled back by a black bow. Her eyes weren't a deep crimson like Soul's, but rather lighter, as if some sort of fire burned behind them. She wore a black tube top-like shirt, whose sleeves left her shoulders bare but continued and went down past her hands. She wore a short red skirt, one short enough to give Maka a run for her money, since somehow it was always short enough to cover up exactly what was needed at any moment, no less, and no more. The mystery girl had on black knee-high boots to complete the look. Her face was contorted into a fake smile, her voice dripping with contempt.

"Good evening, Lady Maka, oh, I didn't interrupt anything, have I?" She sneered.

"Akira. What does the Ministry's favorite little pet want?" Maka replied coldly, her voice sending shivers down Soul's spine. It was truly creepy and completely alien to him, to see her like this. Her low tone of voice eerily calm, and foreboding of the chaos to come if Akira was too careless with her actions, or words.

"As you know, your little human here knows about us, and so I've come to watch over you, as such, you know that I act with the voice of the Ministry. I figured I should see what kind of human you've snagged yourself here, but it seems you have nothing but a useless dog, if even that. Saving him is quite stupid, I'll probably get to put him down by the end of the week." She sneered, looking at Soul briefly before returning her cold glare to Maka.

"I'll have you know that said 'little human' is larger than you, since your head is shoved to far up your ass to see that. My 'human' also has a name, and I know you were watching us, you're not quite inconspicuous, you know." Maka replies sarcastically before her voice drops to a more dangerous, commanding tone.

"I would also watch my tone if I were you, because you speak with the voice of the Ministry when they approve so. Otherwise, I'm sure I could decapitate you for threatening a human I have a staked a claim over. I'm sure Lord Dracula would just _love_ the gift of a head on a pike, and I could get away with it you know, it would be so easy to kill you. Just think of all the ways I could do it, too. Oh how _delicious_ it would be to see you struggle against me, only for it to be to no avail, to hear you scream and see you writhe in pain. I'm tempted." Maka commented, startling both the red-eyed boy and girl.

"My thoughts exactly on your little hu- Soul, and what a glorious kill it will be when he screws up, and you're both punished for it." Akira retorts, correcting herself when Maka gives her a look at the words 'little human'.

"I'm _completely_ willing to put my life in his hands, as well as on the line for any one of the others, they are my Shield Brothers and Sisters and more importantly, my _friends_. As such, I would much sooner kill scum like you than have you stand here, threatening them. Now if you mind, we'll be on our way." Maka replies matter-of-factly, before grabbing Soul's wrist and walking with him to the elevators and up to the fourth floor.

The way back to the apartment is quiet, but the silence doesn't bother her, she'd much rather wait until she was sure they were alone before continuing conversation on such a serious subject. Soul is about to turn into Maka's apartment, but she stops him.

"Yours is safer, vampires need to be invited in and I'm quite sure I'm the only one you've invited in." Maka says in a soft voice, quite unlike the one she used with Akira moments ago.

As soon as Soul shuts the door, he rounds on her with a mixed look of emotions. She can tell he's trying to be calm about this all and not pry too much, but who wouldn't be freaked out by Maka's complete one-eighty not even five minutes ago. She merely nods, knowing that a slew of questions is about o come next and letting him know its okay to ask.

"What the hell was that? I mean... that wasn't you, even though it was..." Soul thought he was being so uncool but now wasn't the time to care about that.

"I understand. Well humans that learn our secret have options as to what to do, but the Ministry is probably hoping I'm just getting a familiar, seeing its tradition to get one a sixteen. But I'm not getting one anytime soon, I'm not going to subject anyone to that kind of servitude. For now you should be safe, my blood is in your system and by all technicality, you're under my claim. During this time, no other vampires can bite or harm you, if I'm near by, they might not even dare to get near you, depending on who they are. Akira couldn't lay a finger on your without my say so, unless you let the secret out of course. Then... that's when the Ministry would..."

"Kill me, I figured by the way you were beating around the bush, and that girl back there wasn't too vague on the topic." Soul finishes for her as she becomes silent, not wanting to say it.

"That girl we saw, her name is Akira. She's also a vampire, but she's also one of the Ministry's favorite little pets. She was turned by a noble that killed them self after their master died, she's a stray who had nowhere else to turn, and like many others in that situation, the Ministry turned her into a sort of cop in a sense. They have no need to be loyal to anyone because they have no master anymore, but are too weak to make it on their own. She's the type that ends up acting like they're the shit and can do almost anything, except for breaking major laws. All she is, is a fucking over-rated hall monitor that goes mad with power. She can't touch me unless I've done something wrong, but you've said you'll keep my secret, so we have nothing to worry about." Maka says, plopping herself down on Soul's black couch, the dark fabric starkly contrasting with her pale skin and ash blonde hair. Soul's caught a little off-guard by Maka's swearing, but he knows its because she's mad and it'll stop when she calms down.

"So... she's a pain in the ass, but so is Black*Star and I don't see you threatening to kill him." Soul replies, sitting on the chair near the couch, still wary of Maka.

"She's always hated me. I'm not entirely sure why, she just does. She's just pushed me to the point where I honestly would love to see her writhe in pain, not that that's normal or anything. As for the voice change, I let her get under my skin, she pissed me off, and I usually reserve that voice for times when I must be formal, cold, threatening and the like. She's here because the Ministry usually sends one of her type over whenever someone lets out our secret. It's like probation, and what I want to know is who in their **right-fucking-mind** sends that bitch to pass judgement on me?!" Maka says, fuming a little at the last part.

Soul nods, not wanting to delve much deeper into an obviously touchy subject. "Okay... so what else do I need to know?"

Maka sighs, sinking into the couch more, wishing that the inky black would just wrap around her and hide her from the world a bit, but they're not shadows, and it's not blood, so she settles for telling him everything. She explains how her mother was a vampire, but was a meister for Lord Death for quite a while. She tells him of other creatures, that werewolves and fairies and everything else exists, and he's not surprised. The novelty of it all wore off after finding out vampires exist and that he would have to consume the Soul of a witch later on in life. It's well into the night, and there's still so much that he has to learn. He doesn't even feel tired, though that's probably because he slept almost all day.

Maka tells him of those whom she could consider friends, and how she's a completely different person around vampires, because she needs to act like she's sixteen going on six-hundred for some insane reasons she doesn't care to recall, causing Soul to reminisce about his own life before the DWMA. He feels for her, he knows how it is and he actually admires her for sticking through it. Death knows he didn't, he had quit and run away at the age of thirteen, meeting Kid, who had just turned fourteen, and from then on was enlisted at the DWMA.

It's eleven fifty-two by the time Maka decides that they are done talking on the subject of vampires. Soul insists he's not tired at all and is now as hyperactive as a eight year old boy. Maka blames it on the curiosity of humans, because she doesn't want to think he's getting attached to her because of the blood, even though she gave him almost two pints.

"Soul, you need to rest, my blood's helping you heal, but that's a wound that should have _killed_ you. Get some rest because the healing is rapid, but requires a lot of energy to do so."

He sighed and laid back in the chair, reclining it. "I'm resting, see? I don't haf'ta be asleep to be resting. I'm way too awake to fall asleep now." His tone is snarky with a whining undertone, and Maka smiles a bit at his hyperactivity, probably because her blood's making him feel more energized, but she knows its only temporary.

"Alright, but I'm going back to my apartment and going to relax, just call if you need me." Maka says, getting up from the couch and passing by Soul. He grabs her wrist as she's passing by and his crimson orbs gaze into her own. She gives him a questioning look, waiting for his explanation.

"Well if you're not going to sleep, then why don't we just chill here for a while?" Soul asks, Maka can tell he wants her company, but whether its the blood or not, she doesn't know. She knows it wouldn't be smart to stay and have him be attached to her for a while if it is, but she can't just leave him with Akira nearby. She also is his nurse, so she needs to watch over him while he heals.

"I guess I can stay, not like I have anything to do for a couple days other than going to school and taking care of you." Maka replies with a shrug.

"Whad'ya mean?" Soul asks, and even though he insists otherwise, his voice does sound like he's getting sleepy. It's more rough, and if Maka's honest with herself, really sexy. Not that his normal voice wasn't seductive by itself, he's used that voice more times than Maka could count on both her hands to get what he wants, from cutting in the lunch line to setting a girl up for a mean practical joke that one time.

"Well I'm your assigned nurse and since I'm right across the hall from you, Uncle has told me to watch and take care of you until you're back and better than ever. After I'm done with my classes, I'll be coming over to check on you." Maka replies

"So I finally get my own personal nurse and she's as flat as a twelve-year OW! Jeeze woman! Isn't it against some sort of set of rules or somethin' to hit a recovering patient." Soul complains.

"You practically have an entire two pints of vampire blood in your system, you'll be fine." Maka retorts, plopping back down on the black couch.

The two sit in a semi-awkward silence before a knock is heard at the door. Soul groans and Maka decides she'll open the door. When a pair of red eyes meet her own, she suddenly wished she hadn't.

"Mas- Alucard?! What brings you at this time?" Maka asks, he probably had his presence hidden from her, for what reason, she had no clue. Soul pads over to the door, wondering why Maka seems worried, he can't say how he knows, he just knows.

He stops at the sight of Alucard at the door, who merely glances at him before returning his gaze back to Maka, and Soul suddenly feels protective of her.

"Maka, may we have a word outside, alone?" Alucard says, he's obviously slightly angry about something, and its times like these Maka is worried. She turns to Soul, mouthing the words, "stay here", and follows Alucard into the hallway, shutting the door behind her.

They walk a little more down the hall so that they aren't too close to any doors. Alucard rounds on her and has her against the wall within a second, a muscular arm blocking her on other side. Maka squeaks, obviously caught off guard.

"You're getting slow, have you even been training?"

"I have no need to fight, nor do I expect you to lash out at me or anything. If I knew you wanted me to fight you, I still wouldn't have, you're my master." Maka replies honestly.

"But you're so beautiful when you're angry. Its so much fun." He teases. "But never mind that, I have a task for you."

"Yes?" Maka asks, a little too flustered by his closeness to her to say anything else.

"First, I need a drink." Maka nods in understanding, tilting her neck sideways. Alucard sunk his fangs into her slender neck. They feeling of his sharp fangs pricking her skin was soon replaced by pleasure, causing her to bite her lower lip to stifle a moan. Vampire bites weren't just pleasurable to humans, after all.

Maka didn't mind her master feeding off of her, it was considered an honor, really, because vampires biting one another was more intimate than just feeding, and just a bit more sacred than a familiar, because this was another of the same kind. She was glad he was comfortable enough with her to feed, occasionally allowing her to feed off of him as well.

He retracted his fangs, licking her wound until it healed, feeling he had taken enough for the time being. He wasn't really thirsty, he just wanted an excuse to strengthen their bond. She probably knew that somewhere in the back of her mind, but with how flustered and hot and bothered he had gotten her, she probably didn't care.

"Perhaps I have taken too much," he says, lifting his wrist up as an offer. Maka raises an eyebrow before kissing over his wrist, sinking her teeth into it. She can taste how powerful he is, and as she closes her eyes, he gives her some of his knowledge. She pulls back hastily after seeing and hearing a part of his memories that she didn't want to see.

"I'm sorry to break it to you like this, but that is the Ministry's ruling upon Akira's summoning. My say so was little since you are of my bloodline." Alucard says softly. He doesn't like the idea of Maka having a familiar, let alone him, but there was little he could do now.

"I'm not doing it. I'm not going to subject him to that kind of servitude." Maka says lowly, defiantly.

"Fine, then he will be put down like a dog." Alucard says coldly.

"No! He will not die, and I will not chain him down like a dog either!" Maka yells defiantly back, Alucard stepping back at how her voice has changed. She was obviously pissed, her eyes glowing a telltale electric lime. Usually he found her anger a lovely thing, but this time was different, she was taking a human's side, over her superiors'! The idiot could die for being so treasonous.

He wasn't going to like it, but he was going to have to put her in place, before she did something that ended up getting her killed.

* * *

When Maka closed the door behind her, Soul felt a need to go out there and protect her somehow, but his worries subsided as he felt calm, knowing that somehow Maka was happy (she was being bitten at the time, but he didn't know).

A few moments later, however, he could feel panic rise in his chest. He just knew he had to get to Maka, he could feel her pain as he ran to the door, flinging it open to a sickening sight.

Maka had been flung down the hall, hitting the dead-end a moment after Soul opened the door. Alucard hovered over her, arms crossed as he spoke.

"Do you think you can go against the **Ministry**?! You must be insane! You can't even put up a fight against _me_, let alone _any_ royal! Insolent girl!" Alucard said sternly, kicking her in the ribs, causing a sickening crack to reverberate in her body. He grabbed he shirt by the collar, lifting her up.

"**Are you trying to get yourself killed!** At least you both _live_ if you follow the Ministry's orders!" Alucard snarled at her in rage. Soul felt like he wanted to save Maka, but what could he do? Maka and Alucard were vampires, too strong for him to do anything about it. He just stood there, utterly shocked, watching the scene unfold, his anger rising with every time Maka did nothing to defend herself.

It wasn't long before he realized it was about him in some way too, and somehow felt Maka was taking this beat down because of him. Maka never once hit back, all she did was tell Alucard about how she won't do something. She took every punch and every hit and insult he threw at her. She wasn't going to raise a finger to her master, but then she thought of what Soul must have been thinking. The poor boy wouldn't have any way of knowing Alucard held back on her, nor that violence is just a way that solved things amongst her kind. He wouldn't possibly be thinking of how fast she healed, and how it wasn't all that bad. Soul at that point was seeing red.

Alucard was easily stronger than Maka, and since he was holding back, he was hitting just a bit harder than Maka would, and it shocked him when his final punch was blocked. Maka looked in horror as Soul held back Alucard's fist from Maka's torso. She spoke up again, worry etched into her voice.

"Soul, stop! You don't understand."

"I think I can understand that its not cool to be hitting a girl, let alone you." Soul says, his feral gaze boring into Alucard. He drops Maka and hits Soul, causing him to hit the wall adjacent to him (Maka's apartment).

"**Stupid dog**!" Alucard snarls before turning his gaze to Maka. "Are you _seriously_ going to lay down your _life_ for this stupid dog... _just so he is free?_! Fine... let's just get rid of the problem, **at its source.**" He says, the last part in a low growl before he turns to Soul. His scarlet red eyes staring straight into Soul's crimson.

Before he can even pick Soul up, Alucard sees an inky blackness become a barrier between the two. It's not black blood, but rather shadow, and Alucard knows that somehow, this human means more to her than her own life, and that he just crossed a line put firmly in place by Maka, and now she's going to be crossing a couple lines of her own. Bats flood into the hallways and swarm around Maka for moments, but Alucard doesn't break his deadly glare with Soul.

"**Don't. you. DARE try and harm him!** He is just a human protecting a vampire whose given him two pints of blood! I lay claim over him, and if you kill him I will never forgive you!" A cold voice says sharply, and where Maka once was is a young woman with a killer body.

Soul realizes what Maka meant when she said she had two forms now, and he's taken aback by the difference, even though they are all subtle, the end result is a seductress that could give Blair a run for her money. Her cheekbones are more angular, her legs a little longer, her body definitely more curvy, and her hair is especially long, going down to her butt instead of a little past her shoulders as usual. She's gorgeous and sexy and Soul feels kind of guilty for all the tiny-tits jokes he's made.

And while she is incredibly sexy, Soul can't help but be apprehensive as he notices the brilliant shade of electric lime sparking in her eyes, and the inky black that seems to swirl beneath her 's pissed and both can tell by the purple-blue-and-black aura around her, screaming of anger. It was odd that her hair seemed to float as if a gentle breeze was lifting it.

The shades of black, which now swirl in a circle below her feet, branch out into tendrils, taking the form of spaded tails, like those Soul had seen on the kishins earlier. In an instant, the shadows lunge at Alucard, but rather than impaling him through the chest, they become a blunt surface, knocking him away from Soul.

Before Soul could process what Maka had just did, she stood defensively in between he and Alucard, and the latter was wide-eyed, angered but proud of her for finally standing up to him. Her anger was something he found beautiful, and if he was honest, somewhat scary.

"So you have chosen this human over your own kind..." Alucard said, sighing as he got up from the crouch he was in from the impact of her attack.

Maka took a step back, the full weight of his words sinking into her head. She knew he thought she was on a suicide mission, and he was obviously going to put her out of her misery before anyone else had the chance, so Maka did the one thing she could think of.

She turned around, lifted Soul up by the shirt, and kissed him as hard as she could. Soul was caught off guard for a moment before putting each of his hands on her hips. Somehow, he felt like he should go along with it, as if it was their last hope from certain death. Somehow he knew that she was worried for them both, and it was like he could tell everything she was feeling. He felt a slight prick on his lips before realizing she nipped him with one of her fangs. He didn't mind, though, since his own sharp teeth grazed her lower lip. Alucard just stood there, completely in shock as to what she was going to do.

Maka pulled away, turning around to Alucard.

"I invoke the codex of binding."

Soul looks at her, "What does that mean?"

Alucard sighed, "_You really do know nothing._ When she kissed you, she opened up her Soul to you. Her soul is now at about seventy-five percent resonance at any given time. Its a bold move, and as for you, it means no one of vampire society can touch either of you unless you or her, or both, commit a major crime."

Soul looked back to Maka. She was obviously trying to be strong, feeling guilty that everything that's happened has happened because of her.

After a moment of silence from everyone, Alucard spoke. "I will have to inform the Ministry of this new development... congratulations on getting your way. Hope it was worth it."

Alucard disappeared, leaving no evidence of his visit, other than a transformed Maka and a saddened Soul.

* * *

I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter. This chapter wasn't meant for moving the story along that much at first, but then I decided to add some actual plot movers into it to make it more interesting. Remember to review, favorite, follow or even PM me on what you think about this story. I also want to ask if you guys would like to see another chapter up for Only One, my first story I started writing but put on hiatus. What do you guys think? Should I continue it? 'Cause I can tell you now both stories are going to be the kind that take some time to finish.

I'll hopefully be updating once more before the 19th. Maybe it might even be for my other story... who knows?

I do... but I'm not telling. :P

BYE MY LOVELIES! Don't forget to review!


	10. Chapt 10: Timeline of Events

**So here's a timeline of what's happened to keep you up to speed.**

_**Some time before school starts**_(I'd say like their christmas break that ends the first monday in january, unless its on the 1st) - Chapter 1:

Maka hunts a kishin and meets Kid on one of his reaps, we recount when Kid and Maka met, she gets application papers for shibusen

**_Monday, January 2nd_** (HOLY SHIT THAT'S A LOT FOR ONE FRICKIN' DAY!) - First day of school pts. 1, 2, & 3.

We meet the rest of the S.E. regular gang, find out Stein is Maka's god father and Marie her god mother (What the hell were the Albarns smoking?!), We learn about Maka's weirdness, Maka and Soul fight and apparently she's the new school nurse, she becomes a spartoi, We find out Maka is really fucking smart, she is toured around the school by Soul while watched over by Kid, and we meet Alucard, Jackie and Maka have their little moment and then reconcile quickly, Free Eruka Shaula (From Soul Eater NOT! actually, youngest gorgon sister, witch of scorpions) and some other big-badies attend Shibusen covertly, Maka saves Jackie from Free in the cafeteria, exposing the fact Maka has Black Blood, Kim and Maka happen to be old friends, Maka sits with the gang and their convo leads to Black*Star asking out Tsubaki, others learning a bit more about Maka, during PE/training Maka outruns everyone as part of her being placed in a spartoi group, she outruns everyone, she does gymnastics and has a convo with Soul in the weapons room after he sneaks up on her, while practicing she gets angered/saddened and pessimistic and Soul consoles her a bit (aww, he's really a big softy on the inside), Maka practices kick and punches with Soul being her partner since most were relaxing, Kid is jealous and wants Maka on his team but isn't sure if she can be, Maka suggests they can go to Masquerade to party since Black*Star's not allowed to throw one in the apartments anymore.

**_That night_****: **First night at Masquerade & A trick of the Light:

We find out that Maka own the once-thought-to-be empty apartment (but still indoors like hotel rooms, #414) across from Soul's own apartment (#413), Maka plays "Black Paper Moon: in English and goes to shower, She picks out a red lace one shoulder dress to go to Masq. with, it was given to her by Alucard, Maka has had problems keeping blood down so she's hungry, Maka opens the door in full form, her and Kid pretends she's Maka older sister (even though she mentioned she was an only child earlier), Maka pulls it off and gets ready in her room as the guys wait for her, she comes out looking like a really hot bombshell LOL, everyone meets at Maka's apartment, they go to Masq. and meet Angela and Mifune, who are non-hostile and allowed into Death City, Liz dares Maka to give Soul a nosebleed and they go dirty dancing, Kid's jealous, He worries about Maka drinking blood and then gets a little pervy, Maka and Soul are teasing each other and Maka's senses are going wild, Maka puts Soul in a trance because she's afraid to bite him, Soul leaves to the bathroom to clean what he thinks is a nosebleed, Kid finds Maka, she cries into his shoulder, Kid and Maka also reconcile on their differences, Kid offers Maka his blood and he believes she'll be okay afterwards, Kid's very blissful because vampire bites are like sex (YAY!), Soul's turn to be jealous, They all go to Kid's place for a sleepover, Maka gets sick from the Shinigami blood, Kid is reprimanded lightly by his daddy, Blair comes over to save the day, Maka comes out feeling better after drinking a lot of blood plus, and even though Soul was thinking about why Maka was suspicious he saw Blair's scantily clad body and got a nosebleed, he notices the flash in her eyes and believes it to be a trick of the light

_**Friday, January 13th**_ (I JUST noticed that too hahaha)- Albarn the Apocalypse, Soul Finds Out (part of it)

It's friday of the next week so she's been at school for two full school weeks, she's been acting weird and the girls question her about her life, Maka talks about her job, vaguely, and SHE KNEW BLACK*STAR (I know, I know, WTF MakaEvansLullaby?! Well, I think it's a good plot twist), he doesn't remember her and we find out the reason Maka tries to hide her secret so much, the Vampire Ministry will kill those who are a threat to their exposure, even children!, going down the stairs of Shibusen to go the the Deathbuck's, Black*Star tells Maka he remembers her from the hospital, sadly he doesn't remember her from before that, nonetheless their friendship becomes more sibling-like as time progresses, Tsugumi makes a cameo, Maka talks more about her job and she's a badass with not-so-badass nicknames (since they're kind of cheesy), we meet Colonel Roy Mustang (from FMA) who Maka and Kid know, Maka tells another lie to cover up that she's a vampire with the bullet thing, maka and Kid "kind of, sort of" dated, this is much to Soul's chagrin, it's decided Maka's hosting a dinner get-together, but she and Tsubaki are cooking, it's a full moon (FUCK!), Alucard gives her some blood to help her (YAY!) after he speaks to her about marriage and the like (NOOOOO!), Alucard is the reason for the cover-up of the whole "Maka's older sister" thing, They both agree something's different about Soul, Alucard Leaves, Soul comes over and looks at Maka's nice ass (hahaha), Tsubaki and Black*Star come over and later Kid Liz and Patty arrive, Tsubaki cuts her finger and it goes without an "incident" from Maka, she and Kid seem like a master chef couple while cooking (aww, how cute!), Kid announces he's got the all-clear for Maka to be an Alpha, everyone agrees to let her join their group with Soul being the last one to decide yes, Maka finds that she's grown fond of everyone and I mindfuck you with the "it's a lovely evening until someone dies" thing. Next chapter: There was a scream that only Maka heard, she gets some weapons and her coat and jumps off the balcony which ends up scaring the shit out of everyone except Kid, Maka senses some Kishen, they find a dead body, Maka realizes it's a pack of spade-tails that did this, the creepy fuckers attack them, Maka kills some and runs out of bullets, Soul and Maka end up slicing one (that took the opportunity to almost kill her) at the same time, Maka helps Black*Star and subsequently covers up for her hysterical amounts of strength as a vampire, Soul gets hurt, Maka practically wrestles the pack leader and kills it, Soul's bleeding out and Maka does all she can to save him, Soul's in the ER, Maka takes care of her friends because she doesn't have any wounds,

_**Next Day Saturday, January 14th**_ (Starting like at one in the morning)- Soul Finds Out (continued) & Invoking the Codex!

Everyone except Maka falls asleep, Soul's in a coma, Stein asks Maka to give Soul some of her blood, Maka finds out Soul also has black blood so its okay, his black blood is inactive and doesn't change after Maka gives him some, she takes care of her friends, even waking Black*Star up at the ungodly hour of like six something to get Soul some things for when he's better, Maka's obviously feeling guilty and not completely stable because of it, she keeps herself working so she doesn't dwell on Soul's near-death-experience, Soul's not in a coma because Maka's blood is healing him a lot, she got coffee for everyone, while Maka checks on Soul she and Alucard have an interesting conversation, Soul hears it in his drugged and drowsy state, not completely awak or catching all of the conversation, Kid wakes up and Maka had to get new coffee earlier, during that time Soul went to the restroom, Maka panics for a moment when she hears the heart monitor flat-lining and Soul's not found in his room, everyone wakes up, Soul is found in the hallway, Black*Star 'makes a funny', Maka checks up on Soul, everyone notices Maka's nice ass, Maka gets everyone out, Soul questions Maka about earlier. Next Chapter: Maka calls in Kid, they explain everything to Soul, she tells him what she's needed to lie about, he decides he'll keep her secret in exchange for the favor he supposedly owes Maka being revoked (he would have kept her secret even if she lost), later on Soul is released, but he'll miss a couple days of school, Maka is his personal nurse, Soul makes everyone go away except Maka because she's stubborn, Maka acts weird and piggy-backs Soul to the apartments, she runs into Akira, Maka gets scary, they go to Soul's place since no other vampires have been invited inside, Maka explains some stuff to Soul, some SoMa fluff, it's nearing midnight when a knock is heard at the door, Alucard asks to speak to Maka, they exchange blood which is kind of intimate, the Ministry demands Soul be a familiar, Maka's not willing to do that and Alucard tries to beat her into submission, it's not mean since he's holding back and that's how vampire society works, Alucard's trying to prove a point but Soul blocks the last punch, angered by finding Maka being beaten, when Alucard is about to harm Soul Maka uses her powers to force Alucard away from Soul, Alucard feels bad and knows the Ministry would kill them both for this, and is goingto kill her quickly to make sure she doesn't suffer, he's not bad it's just the way it is, Maka turns around and kisses Soul passionately, he doesn't understand why but goes along with it, she scrapes him with her fang but his teeth did the same, this is all going on in front of Alucard (who is supposedly going to be her fiance one day!), she invokes the codex of binding, it's a section of the codex which basically means that Maka and Soul's souls are bound, meaning Soul's obviously not going to put her in danger by telling her secret, Alucard leaves to tell the Ministry.

OH THE DRAMA!


	11. Chapter 11: It's Not Just the Bond

Well I hope you guys enjoyed that last chapter. Even though it was more for getting you guys updated with my myths on vampires, I hope you guys were at least a little entertained. And what the hell was with that kiss?! Are Maka and Soul getting together? Or maybe Kid's coming back into the picture? I said I was winging it on the pairings, so even I don't know. I just did that kiss at the end at last second's notice. I didn't think Maka was going to do something so drastic so soon, but I needed someone's life to be threatened, and why not Soul's?

Anyways, enjoy the chapter!

* * *

Maka got to her first class early, sitting in her usual seat, with a book in her hands, as usual...

But today wasn't usual, nothing was usual about her today. Usually, she would actually be reading her book, going through two pages every minute. She couldn't focus on the words, too deep in thought, dwelling on the most unusual of nights in her life.

She couldn't help but feel guilty about everything that happened; it was all her fault. If she didn't let her secret out so easily she and Soul wouldn't be in this mess. Perhaps it would be better if she starved instead of going to the DWMA. What would happen if someone else had found out?

_No. No one else will ever find out. _She tells herself.

Her friends aren't in class yet, it's around five am. She doesn't care, she just wants to be alone and have some time to think. Maka couldn't even sleep because she was too worried for Soul's health, for their lives, for Soul's freedom, for her social status in the vampire community, for Soul's safety in the apartment right now, for their friendship, for everything.

* * *

~FLASHBACK~

_After Alucard left, she realized she had attacked her own master, and her stomach dropped. She felt like she wanted to cry, to scream, to hit something and hit t over and over again until her knuckles bled, but she was completely stoic as she stood there, looking at where her master had been moments ago._

_Soul was silent, contemplating Maka's blank face. She was eerily still, like a porcelain statue that would crumbe to nothingness if he touched her. It was frightening how she went so silent, and as she sunk down to the floor, her face still stoic, one small blood tear made its way down her face._

_She sat there in silence, Soul just watching her, until he decided she needed some comforting. He helped her up, still surprisingly light as always, and just hugged her for a few minutes. Soul wasn't the touchy-feely kind of person, but he just wanted to see her smiling again. After one minute, she started hugging him back. After two minutes, she let a couple of tears flow down her pale face, and by three, she just kept apologizing to Soul._

_They went back into the apartment, and Soul and Maka sat down on the couch. He was still holding on to her, rubbing her back soothingly. _

_"It was worth it. I don't care, I'm not letting you or anyone else die." Maka says softly._

_"What does that thing even do." Soul asks, referring to the codex of binding._

_"Like master said, it increases our resonance rate. We'll be able to tell things about each other that normal people can't, you can probably sense how I feel right now a little." She says, and he nods, an unspoken conversation in which she's sad and he's trying to comfort her going on between them in seconds. _

_She continues on. __"It means that the Ministry must now take that into consideration, if our souls are bound to each other somehow at a high resonance rate, then you're no longer a liability to our kind's secret; because, why would you tell knowing it hurts me, and then you'll know. It's kind of a guilt trip that would be everlasting if that happened, but if you told, you'd die, not me. Basically it means you don't need to be a familiar." She hoped Soul didn't notice that she used the word 'basically'._

* * *

She was right, he didn't notice. _  
_

Maka knew she should have told him, she should have told him what it means to her kind, but she didn't want him to feel guilty. Sure, Soul may be like a toddler, but it was because this entire world was hidden from him. Once he got used to it, he wouldn't be asking as many questions, or doing so just so he didn't want to go to bed early, even though she still fell for it. She shut her book with a resounding clap, and sighed heavily, knowing that she needed to get her mind off things in another way.

It was still too early for anyone to come to the DWMA except for the occasional staff member, and Maka decided she would go to the training grounds. She now felt comfortable using her shadows to get things for her while she was alone, knowing that there was no one to follow her in like Soul did that first time, and a couple times after that, always joking about how he wouldn't catch her if she fell, but he always did.

It was an odd feeling not to have Soul nearby when she was at school, even if she was there too early. She was half-expecting him to be a total douche and sneak up on her, causing her to drop the scythe with her shadows because she lost concentration.

He didn't... He wasn't there to.

Maka had went out to the training grounds after changing out and getting the scythe, going through basic scythe techniques before taking out her anger and frustration on the practice dummy, effectively owing the school a new one by the time the bell rang.

As she took one last swing at her second dummy she thought '_Okay, make that two. Two new dummies.'_

Maka was in class five minutes before the late bell rang, once again in her usual seat, scanning a book without reading it. She didn't notice the quietness of her friends when she walked in the class, nor did she notice the apprehensive looks they had given her. They warily watched her for a while before the class broke into pairs.

Normally, she would have paired up with Soul, since he was the only one who was autonomous like herself. Kid was nowhere to be found in the classroom as well, but Maka was luckily saved when she was called to take care of a student who was injured, since Stein had a class to teach.

Time passed by painfully slow for Maka, and it was obvious that life was dull for her, even as she went through the lunch line. She usually said a friendly greeting and exchanged words with the lunch lady, chatting animatedly and wishing her a good day as she left the line. Today however, her smile was forced, and there seemed to be that spark missing from Maka's eyes. She lost her spunk and even though she was still polite, the lunch lady could tell she was troubled.

Maka was quite troubled, too. Consistently worrying for Soul and herself had taken a toll on her morale. The smile that usually adorned her face was replaced with a blank expression, her eyes not possessing their usual intensity, but rather a lackluster glassiness, empty and intimidating to those who tried to speak to her. It was as if she were void of feeling most of the time, when she wasn't faking that she was okay or trying to act nice to others.

She was too wrapped up in her hell of worry and misery to notice her friends exchange glances, that seemed to convey worry about the blonde meister, as she walked to their newly self-regulated seating area. She sat down at the booth, the large seating area now feeling somewhat empty, with Kid still missing and Soul staying at home. Maka was at the end of the booth, with Black*Star at the end nearest to the wall on her side, probably to sit near Tsubaki, who was opposite him. Next to Tsubaki were Liz and Patty, Patty closer to Tsubaki.

Maka picked at her plate, consisting of broccoli with cheese, scalloped potatoes, and beef stew, not really eating much. Her stomach felt uneasy, whether because she hadn't eaten or it was her extreme amounts of self-induced guilt, no one would be able to know, not even herself. Her friends look at her, studying her, and she doesn't notice it, how they seem to wonder whether or not she's okay. It's odd how normal she seems to them, and how her demeanor has completely changed with Soul and Kid no longer around.

Liz feels disheartened by the fact that it isn't puppy love or anything, but rather because she must feel somewhat outcast, or so she thinks.

Maka finds herself still looking down at her food as she asks, "Has anyone seen Kid around?"

Her friends are silent for a moment, not sure about what to say, since it's the first thing she's said to them all day, other than "hi". They still eye her warily as Black*Star replies, "Only this morning, but he's been gone all day otherwise."

The sudden crackle of the old speaker system silences everyone in the cafeteria. There's a silence before a voice blares through the speakers, accompanied with some static, but still understandable.

"Maka Albarn, report to the Death Room immediately."

She wonders if she has done anything wrong, or anything more wrong than letting Soul find out her secret, almost putting him in mortal danger. She finally looks around at her friends, taking their images in for a moment. All are doing something, not looking at her. Black*Star's inhaling food as Tsubaki tries to slow him down, while Liz is primping her nails to perfection and Patty seems to be making more origami giraffes.

Maka slides her plate towards Black*Star, and everyone glances at her. Black*Star utters a thanks as Maka stands and collects her bag from next to her. Her friends look at her as she walks away. They didn't want to look her in the eyes earlier, in hopes that she wouldn't think they knew anything.

* * *

As she enters the Death Room, the usually cheery skies turn gray. It's much like the kind one would experience during a cool day in fall as it gently rains outside, the air chilly, not exciting nor light enough to do anything other than nothing. A calm grey, with a dullness to rival Maka's lack of liveliness.

She approaches the large circular platform, a tall shadowy figure turns around, waving one boxy gloved hand in greeting.

"Hiya meister Maka! How's it going?" The over enthusiastic shinigami greets.

"Shinigami-sama," she greets back, "it's going okay, I guess. You summoned me?" Her tone isn't her usual cheery self, not even to Lord Death does she try to feign some semblance of joy, a fact which worries him. Perhaps she has learned it's no use, because he would be able to read her soul and know she's faking; he hopes that's the case, because if the skies in the Death Room are any indication, she's quite glum.

"Yes, I heard about the incident on Saturday. Invoking the codex of binding is a major deal and responsibility, are you regretful of your actions? It's not something to be taken lightly, you know."

"With all due respect, Lord Death, I couldn't care less. I will take whatever burden that comes along with my actions on my shoulders. My carelessness is what dragged Soul into this mess, so I'm going to make sure he stays as clean as possible. I'm not going to let any of my friends die because of my stupid mistakes, and they're not going to suffer for me either." She answers with a determined voice, and the old reaper is glad that the old Maka is coming back.

She warily watches one of his boxy hands raise, and slightly flinches as it comes down, closing her eyes. She's surprised when she feels her head being pat, opening one emerald eye, she looks up at Lord Death.

"You're a good kid, Maka. But remember you're just that, a _kid_, it's not easy to take on all the responsibilities of an adult at such a young age. It's okay to have your friends help you. Isn't it, you guys?" Maka's eyes widen, wondering who else could have possibly been in the room, when she had sensed no other soul.

Lord Death moves out of the way, and Maka finally gets a good look at the large fully-body mirror. It ripples, and Kid steps out, his hand holding onto Liz's, pulling her out, she pulls out Patty, Patty pulls out Tsubaki, who pulls out Black*Star, who pulls out Soul.

"That's pretty cool Kid, you gotta show me how you do that sometime." Soul utters to Kid as the duo walk towards Maka. The others are still eyeing her warily, but while they may not understand much, they know Maka is still Maka, just a little different than they believed, but it still doesn't change her soul.

They both greet Maka, Soul giving her the 'sup' head nod, (which I bet you did as you read that), uttering a "Hey Maka", and Kid doing his weird double peace sign thing to preserve symmetry. Somehow he pulls it off and Soul and Kid take a stand next to Maka on either side of her, Soul to her left, and Kid to her right. Lord Death is just a little behind his son, but a bit further right.

She's completely speechless, does this mean the others know, or does Lord Death want Maka to tell them?

Soul is the first to speak out loud, "Yeah, can't say you're wrong there, after all, in the end the shape and form don't matter at all, it's only the soul that matters right? Nothing else." Soul eloquently states, surprising all with that answer. He gives Maka one of his signature grins, flashing his shark-like teeth, which makes Maka feel a little better, as the sky becomes a bit brighter, more lively.

"We've heard Soul's opinion, anyone else?" Lord Death says, fishing for the next answer.

"In my five years of knowing Maka, she's never given me a good reason not to trust her. Vampire or not, she's still one of my best friends." He says, smiling at Maka, obviously genuine. His weapons can tell right off the bat that there's something in that smile, something meant just for Maka. They've never seen it like this before, where his smile can light up his whole face for the entire day, and they realize its because of Maka. It doesn't mean that they've never made him that happy before, but it Maka that can make it last the entire day with just one smile, one laugh, one inside joke told in passing, one moment.

Patty realizes it before her sister does, and she runs over to Maka, squeezing the half-life out of the older blonde. "MAKAAAA~ I'm sorry I didn't talk to you today! I felt so bad because I thought you were a liar and I felt betrayed and I know it was just to protect us and you really care and I never thanked you for saving Soul because he's like an older brother and , and..."

Patty blurts it out quickly enough so that Maka and Liz are the only ones who understands her, Maka because she can process it quickly and Liz because she's become accustomed to her sister's guilty fast-talking. Patty's almost in a fit of tears, and Maka simply worms her arms out of her crushing hug, placing one arm around Patty, and the other's hand on her head in a comforting big sisterly manner.

Patty's a good judge of character, she's always had this uncanny sixth sense about people, and Liz was the one to witness this first hand ever since they were little. Liz walks up to Maka, still being crushed by her younger sister, and pulls Patty away from her, only to hug Maka just as tightly. "I'm sorry too, I was scared because I don't know anything, but I've survived ghosts, Sid's a zombie, I eat evil souls, and we all fight kishen all the time. I'm pretty sure adding a vampire to the mix won't hurt."

Maka's starting to tear up as the sisters hug her tightly, they stand next to her as well, Liz behind Maka and somewhat between her ans Kid, and Patty between her and Soul, but a bit more in front of Maka. Black*Star and Tsubaki approach Maka together, and Black*Star's the first to speak.

"AS YOUR GOD, I WON'T GO EASY ON YOU NEXT TIME WE RACE! COOL! I'M A GOD TO MAN AND VAMPIRE! HYAHAHAHA! EVEN IMMORTALS BOW DOWN TO THE GREAT ME!" Black*Star shouted happily. He gives Maka this simple yet cool fist bump and steps out the way so Tsubaki can speak to Maka.

Maka's worried, Tsubaki is caring, kind, and an all around amazing person, but she doesn't take feelings of betrayal in stride. She knows this after she heard about what happened with her and her brother Masamune. After he became a kishin, she had this sort of animosity towards him, even though she still cared, she felt hurt, and so she was the one to eat his soul.

Tsubaki steps forward, and her deep blue eyes look more like hot fires than oceans. Maka can tell she's upset, and Tsubaki shows just how upset she is when she slaps Maka across the face, only to hug her tightly a moment later. Moments like these make her glad she doesn't need to breathe, or she would have certainly suffocated from Tsubaki's grip if Patty's didn't kill her first. Maka can feel hot tears land on her shoulder, where Tsubaki's head is currently resting. Through small sobs Maka can hear Tsubaki's motherly worry in her voice.

"How dare you think that this is something you need to do alone! We are spartoi, Maka! We protect and care for each other even if it means putting our lives on the line! It's not all up to you, you know. We would have supported you no matter what if you were just honest with us. I guess I was scared of you too, but you're still Maka and you've done so much to protect us. You've cared for us and put us before yourself on multiple occasions. There's no doubt in my mind that I wouldn't have come around. Liz is right, I mean, come on, one of our best friends is a shinigami, a god of death, Maka. I'm pretty sure we can handle you being a vampire." Tsubaki chokes out. Maka hugs her back tightly, fighting back tears and all their friends pile in around Maka for a group hug.

Lord Death's face may not be able to be seen, but underneath his large mask, he's smiling at his son and his friends. In all his years he's never seen a generation more accepting than this one, and it makes him have hope for the future. Learning to face your fears of the unknown is what makes one stronger, instead of running away from them. Hopefully, whenever his son takes over, he will gather the courage to brave the unknown and come out stronger because of it. He smiles, noticing Kid's OCD is not taking over, even though his friends are all in one asymmetrical bunch.

The students are excused for the rest of the day, and lord Death tells them to enjoy some time together to work things out. There's still mending to do.

* * *

Back at Maka's apartment, the group is crowded in the living room, and Maka has pillows and blankets and even some pillow pets thrown around for everyone to make themselves comfortable. Maka's sitting in front of her couch, on the floor, since Soul decided to be lazy and lay across it, propping his feet up on Kid. Tsubaki's sitting on Black*Star, her back leaning on his chest as they share the armchair. Maka, Liz, and Patty each have a large bean bag chair to sit on. Everyone has coffee, tea, or hot chocolate, and Maka laid out some cookies to go with their drinks on the table, not that anyone was really in the mood to eat

The walk back consisted of many silent moments. Just because they accepted Maka didn't make it any less weird. Now that they were all in one room, it was easier to sort everything out.

"How did you guys find out?" Maka asks, breaking the silence.

Everyone's eyes turn to Liz, who looks down kind of bashfully. "Well, you see. I thought that maybe Soul and yourself had something going on and sorta, kind of, technically... spiedonyouguys."

Maka's eyes go wide for a moment, and she curses herself for being so fair skinned, as her blush is obvious, but it's worse when she's all vamped-out, so she's thankful she's not.

"Wait! Before you say anything, I guess I just got a little carried away with my mental matchmaking when I first met you, but you guys clicked instantly. Soul follows you around like a lost puppy with a bone, and you're always joking around with him. You guys tease each other and engage in banter almost everyday. Even when you guys aren't in the best moods, you can cheer each other up, and you guys seem like you can empathize so well with one another. You both seem to be much happier around one another. It's pretty convincing." Liz says, her hands held up defensively.

"Okay, that's the why. Now how could you have spied on us, let alone when?" Soul asks, he's blushing a bit too, but he's curious as to how Liz was able to be sneaky yet again. She did this when he flirted with one of his fan-girls and took her out on a date she set him up in.

"Well, I just borrowed Kid's phone and called mine with it. I left my phone in the room before I left for my coffee and was listening by myself. When you called in Kid, however, it seemed like things were going to interesting. Everyone wanted to listen in too, so we heard your conversation with Kid and Soul up until Kid left the room. He gave me his phone because I told him I needed to call mine to find it in your bag, since you handed it off to me. After setting it up I pretended to find my phone and then leave it in the room subtly, as if it were an accident. Sorry Maka." Liz confessed.

"No, it's fine. I guess it's better to have been found out sooner rather than later." Maka replies.

"So Maka, what's this other side of you look like?" Tsubaki chimes in, obviously wanting to go on to a lighter subject.

"Umm well, I can't really see myself in the mirror in that form, but I'm about twenty-one or so in that form. I'm like three inches taller and my hair goes down past the small of my back and to my hips. I know my eyes are supposedly like an electric lime. Many vampire's eyes highlight some sort of color that's in the kind they had as humans. Green is usually brighter, more vivid. Blue can become more like blue fire or electric, as our eyes sort of glow in the dark. Muddy brown can enhance the red undertones, and become red like Soul's, sometimes even brighter. Lighter browns can become more like molten gold, like Kid's. Those with naturally golden eyes might just become more intense, and other odd colors can react differently as well. I know I look more like my mother, from what others say, but I can't really describe myself that well." Maka replies.

"Wait, so you can see yourself in the mirror now, but not in full form? That must be such a pain in the ass to do your hair." Liz says, making Maka chuckle.

"Actually, we need enchanted mirrors to see ourselves. Either way, its not all too bad. As vampires become stronger, we can start fixing ourselves up by sheer force of will, rather than manually. I could never do that braided chiffon hairstyle from last week without having someone else there for me otherwise." She giggles.

"So that's how you did it, Maka. It really was lovely. Wait, does water bother you guys like they do in myths?" Tsubaki asks.

"Oh no, not at all. I still shower, even though I could just force myself to be clean." Maka says simply, "I still brush my teeth and cleanse too. It gives me some feeling of normality, that and I love the squeaky clean feeling you get afterwards." she adds as an afterthought.

"That must come in handy if you're ever late for school." Patty commented.

"Based on what she can do when she's pissed, that's nothing but a parlor trick." Soul comments.

"Dude didn't you found out the same day we did, so how do you know so much already?" Black*Star asks.

"Yeah but I knew he knew my secret, that and I've been taking care of him since he lives right across the hall. We spoke like all this weekend about this, and he still has a lot to learn." Maka answers.

"Correction, we all have a lot to learn." Liz says, causing a small smile to appear on the younger blonde's face. She's glad she doesn't need to hide from her own friends, and that she has people she can rely on.

It's then Maka's eyes widen in realization, and through their bond, Soul realizes her reason for panic. She bolts up in her seat, and Soul puts his hand on her shoulder.

"Don't worry, Lord Death got permission to tell them on the ground that you would have to resonate with us sooner or later. Apparently it's what worked for your mom years ago." Soul informs her. Maka's tense form sinks back into the bean bag chair.

Kid finds the connection they share amusing, yet he feels jealousy bubble up inside of him. He knows exactly what the bond entails, and he doesn't think she's told Soul yet.

_Of course not, she'll want to save him the guilt. _He thinks.

Soul shifts to grab a pillow so he can elevate his head to see everyone without forcibly craning his neck, but it's just out of his reach and he ends up making an expression of discomfort. Maka can't see it but she gets the plush pillow next to the one Soul had been reaching for,turning to tuck it under his head and fluff the pillow.

"This one's firmer as well as more cozy." She explains to him, and he can't stop a smug grin from forming on his face at how he gets special treatment. She knows it too, and mutters "don't let it get to your head" to him, chuckling at the way he's still living it up while he can.

* * *

The sun slowly sinks in the sky, and it is now twilight. Maka realizes she's thirsty, and feels a hot tightness in her throat start to build up. She's a little nervous since she's in a room full of people, but she's been through worse. She's wondering exactly how to word it, though, to excuse herself and not weird out her friends.

"Umm... guys, I'm going to step out for a bit, help yourself to whatever's in the fridge, unless it's the fish. Blair's obsessed with the stuff. Bathroom's in the hall , second door on the right." She informs, hoping they all get the message.

... Of course, some friends are more thick-skulled than others.

"What for?" Black*Star asks.

"Well... um, I need something... fresh." Maka replies.

He makes a face of understanding, "Oooh. Wait, what are you going to get? I'm sure there's no kishen in Death City right now, the regular class just did a group exercise, all kishen have been eliminated." He replies.

Maka shrugs, "I don't know, but there's always something in the forest to catch; deer, moose, elk, rabbits, birds, foxes, lynxes, wolves, mountain lion,-"

"Woah, woah, woah! Woah there! Mountain lion?! Isn't it just easier to drain some steaks of blood or something?" Liz asks, and Maka's face scrunches up as she shakes her head.

"It's harder, but cold blood is disgusting, and microwaving it makes it taste weird. I tried that years ago. Fresh blood to me is what a gourmet meal would be to you. Well, maybe not gourmet, but a nice restaurant." Maka replies as she makes her way to the empty wall by the dining table, or so it seemed empty. Maka presses the wall in at multiple points creating a rectangle, and lifts it up, revealing a wall of weapons. Her friends go wide-eyed, and then they remember what she's done already, figuring this isn't nearly as impressive as what she's seen.

"Why not gourmet?" Patty asks, making everyone suddenly a bit more wary of Maka's response. What if she didn't take it well, or her vampire side was acting up? Maka chuckles in response.

"What? No 'Oh my Death Maka, are you preparing for World War three?!'" Maka says, joking as she puts holsters on her bare thighs. Each being filled with knives, throwing knives on her left, and a fighting knife on her right. She coils the whip onto her belt on her shorts, and lastly she puts on some finger-less gloves.

"Well, I guess it's kind of expected for me to have a full stock of weapons, being both a designer and user. Well, I can't say I've been asked that question before, Patty... Let's just say there's better tasting things on the menu than common wildlife." She replies, putting the wall back in place with a 'click'.

"Oh. I'm sorry Maka, I didn't mean-"

"No it's fine Patty. I actually found it kind of amusing. Most humans I know don't really ask that many questions about our kind, they kind of just sit back and learn what they need to. It shows you want to actually learn, before you judge." Maka replies with a smile, before standing on the balcony's railing and leaning back and letting herself fall, she lands on her feet, but her friends still check to see if she's made it down safely, only to find that she's not even there anymore.

* * *

The forest's large trees provide enough shadow for Maka to disappear from her friends' view. She sends a mental message to Kid, promising she'll make it back before the night sky turns too dark, which he relays to the others. She can almost hear the groan coming from Kid as she knows he realizes he'll have to do the explaining on why he knows this.

It's quiet in the forest, and Maka knows that it means there's something hunting nearby. Something's going to be chasing something else, and she wants to join in on the fun. Maka takes in the scents of the forest, and she can smell a group of deer to her left. The eery calm in the air is caused by the careful cougar, stalking its prey silently as not to alert them.

It's already alerted Maka however, and she's amused at how the forest seems to have a dead silence before a chase gives. Her eyes glow the telltale electric lime in excitement. She wants to mess with the cougar now, wanting to toy around with her prey. She feels bad for the deer, as many are only young fawns, and decides the aged cougar is the better meal. It's best she gets the older animals, one that will perhaps die soon anyways, so as to not disturb the natural cycle of life too much.

Maka takes the small branch above her and snaps it, the closeness of the sound causing the deer to run. The old cougar gives chase as Maka wanted it to, and she jumps easily from tree to tree, tossing the occasional rock or twig around to play a sick sort of joke on the cougar. It still hasn't noticed her presence as she perches herself on a branch, she's upside down, her legs holding her to the branch much like a... dare she be cliche... bat. The cougar runs right underneath her and she drops, landing on her feet, and takes off after the cougar.

It's not long before she tackles it. It claws at her and she laughs as she just bites its neck. The animal relaxes, and Maka can even hear soft mewls and purrs of pleasure come from the beast. It's high on her venom for now, but she's contemplating on whether she should just kill it now or not, because she's is definitely not going to lick its wound until it heals, and she's not putting this beast on vampire blood, no sirree. Her mouth already has some of the taste of fur, but the blood soon gushes in, overwhelming all other flavors in Maka's mouth.

She's drained the thing of much blood, and it's at the point of almost blacking out. After Maka's had her fill, she decides to put it out of its misery, plunging her army combat knife into the beast's chest. It gives a small cry of pain, takes one last deep breath, its eyes widening as they lose their light, life forever leaving the animal.

"Thank you for the meal, may your soul rest in peace, fellow hunter." Maka whispers to it, closing its eyes.

She has blood on her mouth as she treks back to the apartment at vampyric speeds, knowing this she doesn't go into the building, but rather decides to spend some of her newly attained energy to have her shadows propel her up, bouncing off of them as she crouches and jumps up. No one notices her, as this is also done with vampyric speed, not register-able to the average human eye.

She lands in the balcony quietly, and she opens the sliding doors to walk back in. She has a leaf in her now very loose ponytail, her body has dirt lightly dusting it here and there, and there's fresh blood in the right corner of her lips. Her friends all take a good look at her, and Kid replies in an amused tone, "Went for the mountain lion again, I see."

She laughs in response, cleaning of the combat blade and drying it before putting her weapons and holsters away. She tosses the black gloves on the end of the kitchen counter before washing her hands.

"Hell yeah I did, it was going for the defenseless baby deer." She says, drying her hands. She picks the leaf out of her hair and tosses it in the trash.

"Although maybe I should have gone for the deer too, at least then I wouldn't have gotten clawed all over." She says, sighing as she notices a tear in her black v-neck.

"Seriously Maka, what do you expect when you're wrestling it to pin it down? It's a huge cat, cats scratch." Kid replies, and their friends' expressions are all mixed into ones of shock, except for Soul.

"You weren't kidding when you mentioned supernatural condition, there's not a single scratch on you. Impressive." He says, eyeing her up and down.

"No fucking way! Maka do a little spin." Liz demands, Maka comically does so, adding a curtsy towards Liz.

Once again, everyone's except Kid's and Soul's face are in an expression of shock and fascination.

"How come you're not so shocked Soul?" Black*star asked.

'Dude, we live in a world where our principal and best friend are Death Gods, another best friend is a vampire, we hunt witches and kishen, one of our teachers is a zombie, and I know there has to be a whole bunch of other things out there too. Man, nothing fucking phases me anymore." Soul replies. "Especially after she tackled that kishin Friday night." He adds as an afterthought.

Maka laughs in response as she goes into her room, grabbing a shirt. She doesn't change yet, and still has the shirt in her hand as she backtracks into the living room to tell her friends she's going to shower and she promises not to take too long.

"Why don't you just do that instant-clean trick thingy?" Black*Star suggests.

"Yeah why not, I've had a good meal so I can afford to use some energy. I can't do it in this form though, only in the other one. I hope you guys don't mind." Maka says

Tsubaki gives her a reassuring smile, "We won't mind Maka, go for it."

"Alright, just don't freak out with the bats." Maka replies.

"B-b-bats?!" Liz starts to squirm in their seat.

"Don't worry, they won't touch you and they're not like real bats. Its one of those things you need to see to understand."

Everyone merely nods in reply. The moon, visible through the glass sliding doors, starts laughing, blood pooling in its mouth and spilling down its crooked, crazed grin. The night seems to seep into the room, it's slightly dimmer even though no one's touched the light switch. There's a silence to it before the bats come in, circling around Maka.

As the bats rest on her body, wrapping her in inky blackness, her friends understand what is meant by "not like real bats", not entirely sure what they're made from.

"Shadows." Kid says as one peels off her left thigh.

Another comes off her right eye, and her friends are surprised to find more catlike eyes in place of their friend's usual doe eyes. These eyes do seem to glow, they seem to take in everything about their surroundings, analyzing and assessing as they spark with electric lime. These are the true eyes of a hunter, but behind them lies that same determination and courage Maka seems to have a vast reserve of.

The bats peel away and go back out into the night, just passing through the sliding doors as if they weren't there. With their departing, the light in the apartment is brighter once again, and you can see Maka's eyes adjust, growing more slit-like, her eyes retain characteristics of both cats and human, her pupils do not slit up and down her entire eye, but just rather the length of the pupil's area at its widest. They aren't entirely slit either, being a bit too wide for slits.

Everyone can't help but to stare in shock. Her cheekbones are more pronounced, and her hair is easily long enough to rival Tsubaki's length. She does seem taller, by about three inches, and it would be an understatement to just simply say Maka had curves. Maka had **curves**. It was as if her waist didn't grow, while her hips and chest certainly did. Her skin was just a little lighter, but her paleness made her seem all the more ethereal, and her lips were a deep shade of pink, and not because it was stained with blood either. The subtle changes really did make all the difference, and Maka was blushing lightly as her friends stared silently.

Soul had gotten a good look of Maka in full form once before, and if this was any indication, she's going to be a bombshell when she was finished growing. Now that he wasn't too distracted by another vampire trying to kill him, or hoping that nothing bad happened with the Ministry, he was really able to take in her form entirely. He couldn't help but be bothered that Kid knew what the bats were made of, and started to wonder if he's seen her like this before, and if so, how many times? He can't help but feel jealous. Little does he know, Kid is jealous of him as well, and his bond with Maka.

"Maka, you're really hot!" Liz says, "Not that you weren't beautiful before, but you're a bombshell!" she adds quickly at the end. A fierce red dusts Maka's cheeks, and despite her obvious embarrassment, Patty continues on.

"Yeah Maka! And I swear you're probably as big as sis now! Maka's in for a growth spurt soon, huh sis?" Patty says, walking up to her and poking her once in the boob. Soul and Black*Star look like they're trying not to burst with nosebleeds and Kid's hand is over his face, either stopping him from laughing or from blushing too hard in front of everyone.

Maka facepalms as Liz and Patty go on about how they have a new doll to work with. Patty's poking and prodding, however, lead her to a new discovery as some bandaging unraveled under Maka's shirt and was seen under the hole in the torn shirt.

"Maka, how come there are bandages under your shirt?" Patty questions, and Maka turns beet red. Patty can tell it's wrapped around her upper chest, what with the way part of it is hanging, giving the location of where the rest lies.

"Well, they kind of get in the way..." She says, hoping Patty gets it. This time she does, and it doesn't turn out well for Maka.

"Oooooh, so Maka's been hiding the twins the entire time now? Let's find out what size Maka really is, shall we?" Patty says running to the door to Maka's room, but Maka blocks the doorway before Patty can get there.

"Oh Death, Patty we can talk about these sorts of things later, okay?" Maka sighs, turning Patty around and walking with her to the living room before Patty ducks under Maka's arm and runs back again, only for Maka to stop her again. It's comical the first three times or so, but the novelty soon wears off and Liz is the first to comment.

"A word of advice, Maka: she's not going to stop trying, and she's more hyper-energetic that a four year old on cake."

Maka groans, and plops down on the beanbag chair and pillows around it. Patty takes the opportunity to run into Maka's room and look around.

"Woah! It's so pretty in here!" Patty shouts loudly, everyone looks to Maka for approval to go in.

"Fine, go ahead in." Maka says, giving up. Everyone went down the hall to the first door on the left, put closer to the middle of the hall rather than either end.

Soul has to say, it's actually pretty cool in here. Her room is obviously the largest one in the apartment, with its own bathroom and walk in closet. Walking in, the red black and white color scheme continued, but in here it was a bit more homely, rather than cold and unfeeling as Maka's apartment had been the first week. Now there were more pictures around the place, and food filled up the pantry and fridge. The place seemed to come back to life more now that Maka was here to inhabit it, for hopefully a very long time.

What had caught his attention secondly was the huge King sized bed to the right as he walked in. The bed was neatly made, and the comforter had a beautiful thin branch design in the lower right and upper left corners, spotted with flowers reminiscent of a Japanese cherry tree, the design on a white background. It also had The black headboard made it look like it started out as a petite sofa, with a Victorian-esque style and the sleekness of modern furniture. He had to admit, she had good taste, for a girl's room anyways.

No he wasn't gay. (That's quite mean to assume that, by the way, don't do it. Stereotyping is bigoted and WRONG...shape and form don't matter, all that matters is the SOUL.) He just had an eye for these sorts of things because his mother had him pick out his room's furniture once or sometimes twice a year, as long as it was within his mother's approval. Of course, he got away with the occasional bean bag chair and arcade game, but he usually had to get rid of them the next time around.

The wall behind her bed was a scarlet red with white and black branches going up, white on the left side. To the left of her bed was a back wooden vanity, holding everything from lotion to make-up to hair products, neatly organized, though. Her night table was on the left, also black wood.

The white wall opposite the door had large windows almost running from floor to ceiling for a good section of it, but ended with only white walling to the left. Sheer scarlet curtains allowed light to flood in, while keeping everyone outside oblivious to whatever was going on inside. Inside said white walling, however were three bookcases almost as long as the windows, and books were neatly organized throughout, giving it a more full appearance even though they could all fit within the first.

A beautiful black chandelier hung in the middle of the room, and below it a furry-looking scarlet rug contrasted well with the dark grey hardwood flooring. On the left side of the room to the left was another wall, this time black with white and red branch designs.

There were two doors, well one door and an archway with another curtain, but this one was black and velvety, so as not to allow any sight as to what was in there. They were on opposite sides of the wall, the curtained archway closer to the door. As everyone piled in, it was noticed by soul that the door trims matched the branches, and roots could be seen spreading out at the bottom, making the doorways act as tree trunks.

Against the wall in between the doorways was a sleek red leather couch, the kind with an arm rest on the left but not on the right. And last, in between the seating area and the bed, there was an elegant black wood desk with a glass top, to match her vanity and nightstand, complete with an office chair, a laptop on the desk, and an oriental style, four panel, paper room divider with black and red cherry blossoms as the design.

Maka steps into the room to find all her friends just browsing through her room contemplatively. Kid notices the asymmetry of the furniture placement, but before he can say anything Maka tells him to look at the furniture as individual pieces, not as a whole, or to admire the wall designs. Sure enough, he can find something symmetrical about every piece in the room.

Liz lets out a breath she didn't know she was holding in, because she knew Kid was due for another OCD attack soon, she just wasn't sure when. It was then she took the time to appreciate Maka. She always handled Kid's OCD with the patience and calmness of a Buddhist monk, even when it was getting really annoying. Maka also seemed to stop them more, like she did now.

Patty discovers that the curtained archway is the closet, and squeals as she looks through Maka's wardrobe. "Oh my Death Maka! I never knew you could be so girly! And this has to be the cutest bra ever!" Patty shouts, running outside of the closet with an animal print bra.

She trips on the carpet however, and the bra goes flying. Maka catches Patty before she can hit the ground, and the bra lands right on Soul's head. He picks it up and sees the words 36D in big letters on the tag, and gets a nosebleed, passing out on the floor. Black*Star ends up laughing and pointing at his friend like the blue-haired monkey he is.

Maka sighs, "Patty, try and be more careful, and don't run around with a bra."

"You're not mad?" Kid asks, because usually Maka would be fuming at that sort of thing.

"No, that's Blair's bra. I don't wear animal print, it would show through a lot of my clothes and I pre-... never mind that."

Soul makes a mischievous grin as he picks himself off the floor, "No, what were you gonna say Maka? What, you like the lace ones better, or do you like to go bare?" He teases.

"I'm not answering that."

"Born freeeee,~ free as the wind blooows~" Soul starts singing, teasing Maka, of course that is until she Maka-chops him.

"Still need to learn to take a joke." Soul groans.

* * *

It's midnight before anyone seems to remember that it's a school night, and while Maka was swamped with questions, she feels a sort of tension she had never noticed before leave her, both physically and mentally. It was amazing how much better she felt with the weight of the world off her shoulders for once.

Kid, Liz, and Patty leave first, having to travel back to Gallows Manor, rather than down a floor or so like Black*Star and Tsubaki. Soon enough, they also start to say their goodbyes, but while the girls chit-chat, Black*Star gives soul a shit-eating grin.

"What?" Soul asks, his friend is obviously up to something, or knows something he doesn't.

"So all you and Maka did was talk all weekend, and she was there taking care of you like 24/7?" He asks in a hushed tone, but while the wheels in Soul's head are turning, he decides to play it nonchalantly.

"Yeah, why?" He replies, his face schooled into a mask of aloofness and indifference.

"Well my friend, you're either broken or gay. Come on, you've got her as your personal nurse, who's available, and you obviously like. Don't even try to deny it man, you two have something going on. You always seem so indifferent, but around Maka your face lights up just a little more. And listen, my godly self just happened to notice that a certain blonde disciple was acting pretty distant and all doom-and-gloom at school, and her face just lit up when she saw you."

Somewhere deep within Soul, he knew his friend was right, as he had seen some changes within himself. He wasn't touchy-feelly, and her hugged her as she cried for minutes, which at the moment felt like hours as he just wanted to see her be happy and cheery again. His conscience, however, told him he was only doing the logical thing you do when girls cry. His mind told him that the feelings he held for Maka were only because of her blood.

"It's the bond, weren't you paying any attention when Lord Death was talking to us all this morning before school without Maka?" He bluntly replies.

"Whatever man, but it seems I'm not the only one not paying attention. I'd suggest you start listening soon, because Kid's got a whole five years ahead of you." He says, before going over to say bye to Maka.

With everyone else gone, it's only Soul and Maka in the apartment, and Soul sees Maka's cheeks lightly dusted with pink, but he shrugs it off. Little does he know that Tsubaki was speaking to Maka about the same thing as he and Black*Star.

* * *

I know I ended it at a kind of boring scene, but if I continued it, I probably would have written another 8,000 words. Anyways, I'll try and sandwich in another update by when school starts for me. Oh, and please please please read and review! Thanks :).


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